


Shape Of You

by Ordinary_Fangirl



Series: Haikyuu!! Omegaverse [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst, Courtship, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Getting Together, Love Confessions, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Minor Original Character(s), Scenting, Sexual Tension, Volleyball Dorks in Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-27 04:37:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 61,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9965330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ordinary_Fangirl/pseuds/Ordinary_Fangirl
Summary: A love story about a hyperactive, red-haired omega and a socially awkward, stern alpha.(I live for my otaku son Satori<3)





	1. The First Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> This is the second part of my Haikyuu!! Omegaverse series with the major pairing UshiTen.   
> The first one can be found under the name 'I Want Your Bite' (IwaOi), so be sure to check it out if interested;)
> 
> Welcome to UshiTen hell! I know very well that this pairing isn't the most common one, but you know what? I DON'T CARE! Everyting's possible in the Haikyuu Fandom;D  
> Please enjoy this story as I had a lot of fun working on it and I absolutely love my Shiratorizawa dorks<3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First Chapter: Let's do this!
> 
> (Enjoy my UshiTen obsession.. *devious laughter*)

His knees had given out. Around him were countless shards of shattered plates. Both hands clutched at his stomach and the boy started panting.

“Haah.. aah.. What’s..?”

A woman in her mid-thirties with beautiful, long, hazelnut-colored hair almost immediately appeared in the doorframe and kneeled down by his side, trying to avoid the shards of porcelain on the wooden floor. She grabbed his face in both hands turning it carefully, to make him look at her.  
Glassy, unfocused, red irises found her blue ones and her expression of shock and worry from before, shifted to something more affectionate. She embraced her son to her chest and started rubbing soothing circles between his shoulder blades.

“Haah.. Mom..? What’s.. hah.. happening?”

The boy choked the words out in an attempt to steady his breaths.

“You’re presenting, dear. It’s nothing to be afraid of so let’s get you to your room so you can calm down, yes?”

His older sister wrapped his limp arm around her shoulders to support his weight. _When had she gotten here?_ They lifted his figure from the floor and carefully made their way to the staircase. They passed his father, who just stood there, frozen. Slowly, they climbed the stairs to his room, just as his stomach clenched painfully again. The boy grunted in discomfort and a few tears threatened to fall down his cheeks. After the last step was taken, his sister balanced his teenage body to grab the handle of the familiar door. He barely registered his mother giving instructions like “Get two bottles of water” and “Make sure all windows are closed” before the older of the siblings jogged down the stairs again.  
He felt himself get placed on a soft surface and a blanket was wrapped around his weak frame. His mother crouched down beside the bed, a gentle hand brushing the crimson bangs from his sweaty forehead. His face must be have been flushed since his body felt hotter than ever. Another painful contraction in his lower abdomen let a miserable whimper escape his lips. 

“It’s okay angel, shh.. Mom’s here with you. Breathe slowly. In. Out. In. Out.”

The boy did as he was told and to his surprise, the panic starting to make its way through his body seemed to subside with every breath. Despite his clouded senses, he turned his head to find his mother’s warm eyes. A tear rolled down his right cheek and the next wave of pain from his gut made him curl up in an embryonic position. Although the thrumming of rushing blood dulled his sense of hearing, he could make out a male voice shouting from downstairs. It wasn’t directed to anyone, just a loud, furious outburst of curses from his father.  
Why was he shouting?  
As his mother tried to stand up, a tug on her sleeve made her turn around once more. 

“Mom.. does that.. am I.. haah.. an omega?“

He’d never forget the loving smile he received from her at that time. She leaned down and kissed his burning forehead, while squeezing his hand,

“Yes Satori. You’re an omega.”

 

***Three years later***

 

“Hiyaa~ everyone! Tendou Satori is the name! I played middle blocker in middle school and I’m determined to play as a first string middle blocker here as well. I’m looking forward to working with you!”

The now 16 year old teen introduced himself in front of his teammates cheerfully. Today was his first day of high school and a start over for many students.  
Many first years were present to apply for the volleyball team since Shiratorizawa Academy counted as one of the power house schools for volleyball in Japan.  
Satori was one of them.  
He had discovered his passion for volleyball in elementary school, when many of his classmates called him names like ‘monster’ or ‘creep’. Back then, he swore to himself that he wouldn’t ever let people discriminate him because trivial things like looks, behavior, or his.. second gender.  
It wasn’t easy for omegas to prove themselves in sports, especially when there were countless alphas on the team. Like here. It was a challenge, and Satori was more than determined to accept it.  
The older players raised a questioning eyebrow at his introduction, but the crimson knew how to ignore these looks. He returned to his spot in the line and started humming a tune, while the other first years introduced themselves. Satori wasn’t interested in them at first (he had never been a team player to begin with), but some of them caught his attention.

Oohira Reon, his height almost the same as Satori’s with thick eyebrows and short, dark brown hair.  
_An alpha wing spiker, huh? He looks like a grumpy foreigner though.. Maybe he’s the type to shout at you for taking his towel by accident._  
Satori chuckled at the thought. 

Yamagata Hayato, at least 10cm smaller than Satori with spiky, dark brown hair, combed backwards.  
_He’s unmistakably a libero. Oh my god why does he look so serious? Stop scowling like that, you look like Renji from Bleach!_  
His shoulders shook from laughter at the hilarious thought and the uninteresting, tiny first year next to him furrowed his thin eyebrows at the unreasonable chuckle.

Semi Eita. Quite tall, light blond hair with ash-colored tips ( _they must be dyed_ ) and honest, brown eyes.  
_He’s.. an omega! So I’m not the only one who’s not intimidated by the famous ‘Shiratorizawa All Alpha Team’. I like him already!_

Satori’s eyes sparked in excitement. He assumed that he’d be the only omega trying to get on the team but a comrade would make things a lot more bearable.  
A few other first years introduced themselves but none of them were any special. There was only one left.  
Satori was wearing a tired expression by now and a yawn escaped his mouth as the last teen stepped forward. The crimson-haired omega studied him from head to toe.  
The first thing that came to Satori’s mind as he looked at his built was one word.  
_Alpha._  
The boy in front of him was huge and that didn’t refer to his height only. Prominent biceps, wide shoulders and a broad back. You could see the muscles beneath his tanned skin flex with his every tiny movement. Satori’s eyes wandered to his face. The boy in front of him had olive-brown hair with matching eyes. He wasn’t exactly wearing a scowl, more like a stern mask that had manifested itself over the year. He didn’t look like a 15 year old in any way. Everything about him practically screamed ‘Dominance’. Then he raised his voice,

“My name is Ushijima Wakatoshi. My former position on the court was wing spiker in the middle school division and I would be honored if I could continue to play as the ace, here at the high school division of Shiratorizawa. Please take care of me from now on.”

He nodded his head in a polite gesture and returned to his spot in the line of first years. Satori released a breath he didn’t know he was holding and turned his attention back to the coach, Washijo. The man was small and definitely in his sixties, but his skill in finding potential professionals among high school students was exceptional and well-known across the whole country. He stepped forward and announced that the first years would be playing a practice match after a quick warm up.  
_He’ll kick some of us out after that_ , is what Satori thought to himself. He had one chance to prove his skill and he would take it. After all, Shiratorizawa Academy was famous for going to the nationals every year and they wouldn’t be accepting just any first year. 

“Team up with another first year for stretching. Do the stretching thoroughly! If I see someone doing it half-assed, they’re out! After that, ten laps around the court. Begin!”

Satori looked around and decided to ask the person he might be most comfortable with. Wearing a grin, he started jogging to the first year he had chosen.

“Semisemi~ Let’s pair up!”

The other omega cringed at the nickname and looked at Satori with disbelief.

“Sure, but.. Semisemi? What’s that supposed to be?”

Satori chuckled and put his hand on the other’s shoulder, earning himself another cringe.

“That’s a nickname! It fits, doesn’t it?”

The blond omega sighed and sat down to start their stretching routine.  
They talked about trivial stuff like which middle school they came from and which class they’re in, until Satori asked one particular question,

“By the way, Semisemi.. Why are you trying for the team? Aren’t you an omega?”

Semi whipped his head around and stared at the crimson-haired boy in a mixture of blunt anger and confusion.

“The hell is that supposed to mean? Am I not allowed on the team or what? I’m a good player and I’ve been in countless tournaments, so why shouldn’t I apply for this club? Anyway, aren’t you an omega too? If not, I have to get my nose checked.”

Satori started to laugh at the explanation and held up his hands in defense. 

“No no, you’re right! I’m an omega, just as you are. It’s just.. I thought I’d be the only one daring to show up here since the rumors about this Academy’s club are quite intimidating. I don’t approve of the stereotypical second gender roles like ‘Omegas are supposed to bear offspring’ and ‘Alphas are in charge of ruling the world’ either.”

Semi’s eyes widened at that and he offered a kind smile. 

“I like you, Tendou-san.” 

Satori clutched his chest dramatically and replied with a fake sniffle,

“Aww Semisemi~. We’ve known each other for ten minutes and you’re already confessing! I’m such a sinful man!”

The blond rolled his eyes after giving a hearty laugh,

“You’re weird.”

 

After the ten laps around the court, the teams for the practice match were decided on. Satori played on a team with Semi and Mr. Foreigner, aka Oohira Reon and a few other first years. The other team consisted of Renji, aka Yamagata Hayato and the Alpha King (Ushijima Wakatoshi), along with some others. Their senpais and coaches watched the match from the sidelines in order to pick out the ones with most potential.  
Now or never.  
The blow of the whistle signaled the start of the first and only set. It was Semi’s turn to serve and the gymnasium went silent after the sound of a successful float serve going down on the other team’s court. A grin formed on Satori’s face.  
_1:0 for the omegas, I’d say. Way to go Semisemi._  
After three more of Semi’s breathtaking float serves, Yamagata Hayato, the libero of the other team, finally was able to receive the ball to Satori’s and Semi’s displeasure. He seemed to be a talented libero and even the second and third years at the sidelines gave an appreciative nod. Now was Satori’s time to shine. He didn’t know the other player’s very well, but most of the time, he’d succeed with his skill right away. And now was one of those times.  
A small setter from the other team tossed the ball in a beautiful arc and another jumped in an attempt to spike.  
_A quick. Perfect._  
Satori was already there, jumping high enough to stop the spike from the other team with both of his palms. The ball landed on the opposite side of the court and setter, as well as wing spiker looked shocked. Yes. After all, this was his favorite spot.  
He earned himself a thumbs up from Semi and wide eyes from pretty much everyone on the sidelines. He enjoyed the attention, but there was still a match to play, so Semi served once more, only for the ball to get picked up again by Yamagata. This time, the ball was tossed to the Alpha King. Well, he was a wing spiker too, after all. Satori ran to the spot Ushiima jumped from and stretched out his hands to block the coming spike.  
That had been a bad idea.  
Ushijima’s appearance was already powerful but his spikes were something else. The ball hit the spiker’s palm in a perfect position and since Satori was just as tall as his opponent, there shouldn’t have been a problem with blocking him. Emphasis lies on  shouldn’t.  
The alpha’s palm hit the ball with inhuman force and slammed through Satori’s hands as if they were air. The noise, the ball made when it smashed on the court behind the crimson-haired omega was proof for the intensity of the spike. Ushijima landed on the other side of the net and looked Satori in the eye. The omega didn’t even register the unbearable pain, coming from his swelling palm when he looked into his opponent’s olive-colored eyes.  
_He’s good._  
The blocker sported his opponent a grin, which the other didn’t return nor comment. He seemed unfazed, like no one had ever been able to stop his spikes. Semi ran to his side and grabbed his wrist. His palm was a deep red by now.

“Are you okay Tendou-san? Jesus, THAT must have hurt! Excuse me, but can we get something to cool his hand with?”

The blond omega had turned to one of the second years, who snapped from his trance (probably because of the amazing spike) and immediately went through a bag on one of the benches. Satori had a dumb grin on his face, while trying to soothe his teammate that his hand would be okay and that he could cool it after the practice match. Ushijima had returned to his respectful position on the court, without commenting on the matter.  
_Interesting_ , Satori thought to himself as he looked at his flushed palm. 

The rest of the match went on without any other surprises. Ushijima and Oohira were by far the best wing spiker’s among the first years, Semi was the best setter/ pinch server, Yamagata the better libero and Satori would consider himself the best blocker (even after the incident with his hand). It resulted in a 26-24 win for Ushijima’s team and they finally huddled up for a meeting. Semi insisted on getting a cool pack for Satori, so he did as he was told and sat down with a soothing chill on his sensitive palm. Coach Washijo ended his conversation with Coach Saitou and the current team captain and turned to face the first years.

“This was by far one of the best first year practice matches I’ve seen at this academy and I’m satisfied with my decision to accept five first years in total this year.”

The senpais started to mumble. It was definitely uncommon to accept this many first year’s into a national powerhouse’s sports club. 

“Ahem. However, I expect just as much passion and determination from the first years to win competitions like I do from older members. Please step forward when I call your name. First: Ushijima Wakatoshi, wing spiker.”

Said alpha stepped forward and bowed politely in front of his senpais and the coaches. Not like it was a surprise for anyone. That spike had truly been insane.

“Second: ..Tendou Satori, Middle blocker.”

Satori glanced at Semi and both of them grinned. The senpais started to whisper again. Well, he’s an omega on a nation’s top team after all. It’s uncommon but not unheard of.  
He jogged to Ushijima’s side bowing to his team and the coaches. 

“Third: Yamagata Hayato, libero.”

The Renji-look-alike lined in with them and the next two names weren’t much of a surprise for Satori either.

“Four: Oohira Reon, wing spiker and Five: Semi Eita, setter/ pinch server.  
That’s a wrap. These are the first year’s we’ll be taking this year. I apologize to those who couldn’t make it but don’t let it get you down. You’re all very good.”

Semi smiled from one ear to the other when he stepped next to Satori. They continued to discuss administrative things like how the first years wouldn’t be playing in the Interhigh and the spring tournament yet, but they’d be used in practice matches sometimes. Their first year was essential in order to polish their already acquired skills or learn new ones from observing. After some final words of encouragement, they were dismissed.  
The first year’s introduced themselves to each other once more (Oohira Reon not being a grumpy foreigner at all, more like the impersonation of pure kindness) on their way to the locker room. Satori was laughing about some middle school anecdotes with Semi, until a familiar shadow suddenly loomed next to them. 

“By any chance, am I interrupting your conversation?”

Semi, clearly startled by the sudden appearance of the alpha king, shook his head and moved up to Yamagata’s and Oohira’s verbal exchange, since he seemed to read the alpha’s mind. 

“How is the condition of your hand?”

Satori replied with a sigh and showed his sensitive palm to the other. 

“Can’t you see? I can’t block ever again. I don’t feel anything, so my career as a volleyball player is over.. “

The omega expected a chuckle or a snort at his sarcastic comment, but nothing. He turned his head to find Ushijima’s eyes widened in disbelief and.. _shock_? Was he seriousely believing Satori? The latter burst out laughing, clutching one hand over his stomach. 

“AHAHAHAHA! Wait, did you believe me?”

The alpha scrunched his eyebrows and tilted his head in confusion.

“Why would I not?”

Another cackle escaped Satori’s mouth. 

“Hahaha, that was sarcasm Ushijima-kun! My hand is perfectly fine, see?”

He poked the sensitive skin on his palm and didn’t show any sign of discomfort. Still, Ushijima seemed rather confused. Satori tried to explain once more,

“I was joking. I’ve been blocking for years so one of those won’t make me burst out in tears or seriously hurt my hands, but still.. your spikes are something else! If I got one of those to my face.. that would be a different story.”

The alpha seemed to catch up on the other’s explanation and nodded slowly.

“I’m glad that you didn’t seriously get hurt, Tendou-san. I guess I went a little overboard because it was a match to test our individual skill. It’s important to apologize properly for my risky actions. I’m very sorry.”

The slightly taller boy bowed deeply and Satori had difficulties with holding back another burst of laughter as not to confuse the other again. He held up his hands and shook his head.

“Oh please, that’s not necessary! It is sports, so things like that happen all the time. And don’t call me ‘Tendou-san’ if possible, just Tendou or Satori is fine. I’m not good with honorifics and stuff like that at all.”

The dark-haired alpha raised his head and seemed to think about it for a moment. 

“Is ‘Tendou’ fine then? I value respect between teammates very much.”

 _Respect.._  
That’s something Satori hadn’t heard from many alphas before. The kids in elementary school had discriminated him because of his behavior and looks, while his classmates and teammates in middle school didn’t want to socialize with an energetic and spunky omega like him.  
Satori felt welcome here. Semi was a fellow omega on the team, Oohira was pure kindness, Yamagata appeared to be moody but nice and Ushijima.. well Ushijima was a whole other story. Totally intimidating, yet unable to understand sarcasm. Strong, yet compassionate. An alpha, yet respectful to omegas.  
Ushijima Wakatoshi was different than anyone Satori had ever met before. He didn’t know if that was a good or a bad thing, though. 

“Yes! Tendou is just fine! Since I’m not good with formalities, can I just call you Wakatoshi-kun? If you don’t mind that is.”

The other’s eyes widened at the offer, but he didn’t decline.

“I don’t mind.”

Satori smiled at him and waved at the other three, who had walked ahead. 

“Semisemi~ Wait for us! Let’s get some food to celebrate our acceptance on the team!”

The red-head turned to Ushijima a last time and asked,

“You’ll join us, right?”

The taller alpha had the ever apathetic expression on his face but Satori was able to see that he thought about it.

“I’ll join. But you should know something beforehand.. Social interaction isn’t my virtue.”

Ok, now he wasn’t able to hold it anymore. His shoulders started to shake with an outburst of laughter.

“Pfft~ I would not have guessed _THAT_.”

The crimson-haired omega rushed off to catch up with the other first-years, leaving behind Ushijima and his scrunched eyebrows, who again, tried to figure out the omega’s words of sarcasm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First chapter: Done!  
> The song I used for the title is 'Shape Of You' by Ed Sheeran (Who would have guessed THAT?:D) But seriously, the song is my favorite at the moment and it inspired my while writing the first few chapters of this work! (..and Satori has red hair, so why not?)  
> I would be grateful, if you left a kudo or a comment on this chapter<3
> 
> P.S. It's 2:15am and I need sleep.. Good night, folks!


	2. First Year Troubles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the second chapter already! God, I love my Shiratorizawa dorks<3  
> I'm thinking of weekly updates for this fic, because I've already written a few chapters and I don't think there will be a hiatus anytime soon;) But life happens, so don't be angry with me if I can't meet my deadlines one time or the other^^'
> 
> At the end of the chapter is an announcement, so be sure to check it out!

 

***June of their 1st year***

 

“I can’t do thiiiis!”

Satori let his head bang on a pile of papers during lunch break and whined loudly. Semi wore a sympathetic expression and tapped on the crimson locks with his pencil to earn the other’s attention. 

“Stay strong. It’s just the midterms. They’ll be over in two weeks.”

The redhead lifted his head wearing a face constricted in pure horror and exclaimed,

“JUST midterms? Semisemi, you have to understand that there are people on this planet who aren’t freaking geniuses like you!”

Satori earned a smack to his head with Semi’s ruler and the others chuckled.  
They were sitting in Ushijima’s and Oohira’s classroom during their lunch break and crammed for the upcoming midterms. The club activities went well so far. They weren’t allowed in official tournaments yet, but the upperclassmen and coaches approved of their techniques and helped to develop them where they could. Satori’s “guess blocking” was a great addition to the team and he would still earn surprised looks when his guessing was accurate.  
Still, they were normal high school students and had to achieve good results during the midterms in order to participate in club activities. Semi was a genius and got crazy marks in almost every subject. Oohira was a fast learner and good at english, so he didn’t need to worry either. Yamagata didn’t seem like the type to get good marks, but was extraordinarily good at social studies. Ushijima nailed maths and science, so Satori felt a little out of place.  
Oohira patted him on the back in an attempt of comfort,

“Don’t worry, Tendou. Didn’t you get a 95 on the last Japanese literature essay? That’s the highest score out of us all!”

The omega smiled at his friend and felt a new wave of motivation surging through him. 

“One single mark from before will most likely not ensure Tendou’s infinite success on all of the other subjects during the upcoming midterms.”

Aaaaaaand the motivation’s gone again. Satori’s head lowered on the papers again and a miserable groan of utter despair left his mouth. Semi turned to the doorframe and sent the spiker a look of pure annoyance.

“Way to go, Ushijima. You know how to cheer others up.”

The alpha had gone to get Yakisoba bread for all of them, which he handed out at the moment. Just when Satori felt his spirits lifting, they were crushed by their very own, antisocial dork.  
Oohira wore a sympathetic smile and directed his attention to Satori again.

“Which subjects have you crammed for yet? How do you think you’re doing so far?”

Satori’s tired eyes registered the Yakisoba bread in front of him and he raised his head to unwrap the object of desire with a sigh.

“I’ll manage Jap literature. You guys helped me with English and social studies, so I guess I’ll be able to pass those too. All that’s left is..”

“Maths and science, right?”

The blond omega finished his sentence and earned a nod in confirmation. Ushijima had sat down with them by now and looked at his own notes, until Yamagata spoke up.

“Well, Ushijima easily scores a 90 in both subjects. Why don’t you study together then?”

Semi’s face brightened immediately, exclaiming,

“Perfect! It would be way more efficient than all of us sitting here, getting distracted by other topics all the time!”

Satori blinked and looked at Ushijima, whose olive-colored eyes were downcast as if thinking it through.

“I don’t mind. I’m not confident in my teaching skill, but if I could be of any help, I should try my best.”

The others nodded in agreement and Satori felt a weight falling from his shoulders. He could do this. He might be able to pass with Ushijima’s help.  
They finished their lunch and patiently endured the afternoon lessons.  
After their practice, Ushijima waited in front of the clubroom for Satori to finish. They gave their goodbyes to the other first years and started walking in the direction of the school gate.

“Do you want to come over? To study at my place I mean?”

Satori knew that he wouldn’t be able to concentrate in a library or a café. His room had always been the only location where he could study peacefully and without any disturbances.  
Ushijima pulled his eyebrows downwards until a deep crease was prominent between them and looked at Satori questioningly.

“Wouldn’t it be inappropriate to come to your house without an invitation or any kind of gift?”

There it was again. The crimson could never get enough of the other’s way too traditional thinking. 

“Pfft~ Don’t worry Wakatoshi-kun! My mother is still working at this hour and my sister lives in Tokyo because of her studies.”

Satori chuckled and continued to walk down the familiar route to his house with Ushijima by his side. The alpha still seemed clearly uncomfortable with the spontaneous visit, but didn’t take back his offer of studying with him. They passed a young family riding bikes and an elderly woman with a bag full of oranges. After a few minutes of silent strolling, the alpha spoke up again.

“And your father?”

The omega halted. His expression gloomed for a second, but with a quick shake of his head, a cheerful smile appeared on his face again.

“I’d rather not talk about it. We’re here by the way!”

Ushijima’s gaze lingered on Satori longer than it should and the latter felt like a deer in headlights.  
_Don’t ask about him, don’t ask, don’t ask!_  
The spiker’s eyes narrowed, but Satori was faster. He turned around and skipped up the staircase to the door, fumbling for the keys in his bag.  
Ushijima let the matter drop and studied the house in front of him. It was a normal residence for a young family. Two floors, a garden with flowerbeds, large windows and from the looks of it, also a backyard. The door had been unlocked by now and Satori stretched out his hand in an overdramatic gesture.

“Welcome to the Tendou residence!”

The spiker stepped over the threshold and took off his shoes with a quiet “Sorry for the intrusion.” Satori followed after him and put his keys in a small ceramic bowl next to the cabinet.

“Want something to drink? My mother coincidently bought the juice you always drink, yesterday.”

Ushijima gave a nod and let his eyes wander around after Satori had disappeared to what the alpha assumed to be the kitchen.  
The doorway was quite spacious. A wooden floor, a cabinet and a stand with flowers and picture frames. One of them was a picture of two children, the girl being a bit taller and probably a few years older than the boy. Both of them had straight, crimson hair and the boy smiled shyly next to his sister’s bright laughter. The view made the edges of Ushijima’s lips quirk upwards.  
The other picture had three people in it. The same children from before, a bit younger, though. The other person was a young woman, wearing the same warm smile as her children. She had light-brown, long hair, loosely falling over her shoulders as she hugged both of the crimson-haired kids. To Ushijima’s surprise, her eyes were blue, but it made her all the more beautiful. The smile on her lips was clearly mirrored in her eyes.  
“Wakatoshi-kun?”  
The spiker’s head snapped up. He hadn’t noticed Satori coming from the kitchen again. The latter raised an eyebrow and carried a wooden tray with juice and cookies.

“Ready to go?”

Ushijima felt as if he needed to apologize for looking at the pictures without consent of the other, but instead, he nodded and grabbed his bag, following the omega up the stairs. He hoped that Satori hadn’t caught him staring.  
After at least an hour of (surprisingly) successful studying, a noise from downstairs caught their attention. 

“Satori, I’m back!”

The middle blocker put his pencil down and stood up. 

“That’s my mom. You can wait here if you want to, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

To Satori’s surprise, Ushijima also put his pen down and stood up as well.

“No. It’s only appropriate for me to greet her, when I came over without any kind of invitation or gift.”

The crimson snorted and walked down the stairs, mumbling something similar to “Don’t be so stiff, you doof!”  
They arrived in the kitchen and Ushijima recognized the woman from the photo, despite her being about ten years older by now. She was unpacking a bag of groceries and turned around, when she heard them coming to the room. Her light-brown hair was tied in a loose ponytail and the tiny wrinkles framing her eyes were proof of the bright smile she seemed to wear often.

“So that’s the owner of the mysterious shoes in the doorway," her eyes fixated on the newcomer immediately, "Hello, my name is Tendou Hanako, the mother of that rascal right there”, She pointed at Satori with her thumb and offered a warm smile to the guest, “are you by any chance, one of Satori’s friends?”

Satori rolled his eyes at the word ‘rascal’, but Ushijima didn’t comment on the matter. Instead, he bowed his head slightly and began with his own introduction,

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Tendou-san. My name’s Ushijima Wakatoshi and yes, I’m indeed a first year in high school like your son. I deeply apologize for the inconveniences, my spontaneous visit might cause to you and that I couldn’t prepare a gift to bring over. Please forgive my rude behavior.”

Satori snorted. Hanako’s mouth had gaped open somewhere along the second sentence. She looked at her son, who was shaking from laughter and sported an unbelievable wide smile herself after a moment of mental collection. 

“Oh please, Ushijima-kun! Don’t be so formal, I’m not _that_ old yet. First of all, please call me Hanako-san, I’m not good with formalities. And you didn’t need to bring anything or schedule your visits in the future! You can come over any time!”

The alpha raised his head and nodded in comprehension. Satori already knew that his mother found the spiker just as amusing as he did. The crimson explained that Ushijima was helping him with his studies and that they’d be upstairs if she needed anything.  
Their study session went by in the blink of an eye and after the clock showed 8:00pm, Satori leaned his torso on the table and gave an exhausted sigh.

“I’m done. Seriously, Wakatoshi-kun you’re a good teacher! I’m slowly but surely getting a grip on the formulas.”

The other set his maths book down and slid a hand through his dark-olive hair. He was wearing glasses, which Satori didn’t exactly find bad if he was honest. It made Ushijima look a lot more sophisticated and attractive of some sort..

“I’m glad that I could be of help. I shouldn’t bother you any further, since we achieved a lot today. Next time, we could work on-“

Ushijima’s eyes widened, as if realizing what he had just said.

“I apologize for my rudeness. I shouldn’t just assume that you need any more of my help.”

Satori’s head snapped up again and he gave a pleading look.

“Are you kidding me? I won't possibly pass without your help, so a ‘next time’ is a must!” 

The alpha stared at him for a moment and gave an approving nod, before packing up his belongings. They went downstairs and Ushijima bid his farewell to Satori’s mother, who was preparing dinner in the kitchen.

“Won’t you stay for dinner, Ushijima-kun? I made enough for a dozen people.” 

The alpha teen bowed his head a last time and replied,

“I feel bad for declining your kind offer, but I must go home for today. If you’ll excuse me.”

The mother waved him goodbye and continued her work on the kitchen counter.  
After putting on his shoes and sliding on his blazer, Satori accompanied him to the door.

“Thank you for helping me today, Wakatoshi-kun. I’d absolutely fail maths and science if it weren’t for your inhuman teaching skills.”

The other let out a huff and looked Satori in the eye.

“I don’t doubt your intellect, Tendou. I haven’t known you for very long, but from what I’ve seen, you would have also managed to pass without my help. Still, I’m glad that you appreciate my offer. Good night.”

With that, the spiker disappeared down the street and left a flustered Satori at the threshold of the door. Had he just complimented him? In his own, awkward and quizzical way? That couldn’t be, right?  
Tendou let out a sigh and closed the door behind him. He walked into the kitchen, sat down at the table to flap through a magazine and didn’t give the suspicious silence any thought. It wasn’t long before the woman to his left finally spoke up with a smirk.

“Sooooo.. When did you want to tell me about ‘Wakatoshi-kun’?”

Satori rolled his eyes, because he knew exactly what was coming.

“We are so not talking about this, mom. He’s a classmate and a wing spiker of our team so-“

“He’s on your TEAM? God, Satori don’t tell me he’s the, and now I quote you young man, ‘stern first year with the insane spike, that makes your hands fly off’?”

The crimson felt the heat creeping up his neck, because yes, he had said that a few months ago and second: why did that sound so embarrassing to his ears now?

“Mom, I’m telling you, he’s a friend and I do not plan on seeing him _that way_ , so drop the topic, would you?”

Satori had always been sensitive about his second gender. He didn’t want to risk his new friendships with the first years for something like ‘possible coupling’. He wasn’t an ordinary omega. He was independent and hyperactive. If any alpha wanted to be with him, it would only be because of his ability to bear children. But Satori was proud and strong. He wouldn’t bow down to anybody and he didn’t need an alpha at all.  
His mother never failed to place unwanted thoughts in his mind though.

“But what if he comes to like you in _that way_? Wouldn’t you at least consider it? You seem to be a great match!”

Satori’s eyes narrowed.  
No. He didn’t need that kind of relationship. He didn’t want someone to destroy what he already had. He mustn’t develop any unnecessary affection for Ushijima, since he knew what alphas were capable of. A painful memory from 3 years ago was resurrected in the back of his head, but Satori had learned how to shut it down, before it could replay in front of his inner eye.  
He clenched the magazine in his hands and bit back the fury.

“Please.. don’t do or say anything unnecessary to him, okay?”

The excited expression from the woman shifted to a softer and compassionate one. She leaned down and parted the red spikes to kiss the roots of Satori’s crimson locks. 

“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything, angel. I just want you to be happy, that’s all.”

The boy gave a nod and quietly flapped through the rest of the magazine.

 

After thoroughly studying with Ushijima for the next week, Satori managed to pass every subject in the midterms. Their study sessions would become a habit and they’d meet up before every exam for the next two years, always getting to know the other a tiny bit more. Sometimes there’d be Semi and the others too, but Satori would secretly always prefer the moments of togetherness when it was just Ushijima and him. Why that was case, he had never asked himself.

 

 

***November of their first year***

 

 

“Excuse me, but is Ushijima-kun available?”

Tendou, Semi, Oohira and Yamagata were currently taking a break outside of the gym as a group of girls from the Tennis Club approached them. They appeared to be first years like them, dressed in colorful, tight shirts of merino wool and black leggings. The girl who had spoken to them was a petite omega. She had fair skin with freckles around her nose. Her eyes were the color of golden honey and her auburn hair was tied in a high ponytail, swinging from one side to the other as she tilted her head to the side.  
Yamagata raised the water bottle to his lips again, demonstrating his apathy to whatever the girls wanted. Semi rolled his eyes at Yamagata’s disinterest and Oohira crossed his buffy arms in front of his chest, raising an eyebrow at the girls.

“As you can see, we are practicing right now and we’d appreciate if you didn’t disturb our training or distract our team members.”

Shiratorizawa Academy was strict when it came to outsiders watching their practices. In the past, all of the students had been able to observe as mental support, but due to the school’s rising potential in the sport during the past decade, the spectator’s area became more crowded and loud. The players couldn’t concentrate on their exercises anymore and for that reason, Washijo-sensei strictly forbid any visitors or fans to come around until the official matches.  
Tendou stood with a hand on his hip eyeing the girls curiously as they visibly flinched at Oohira’s intimidating aura. The auburn haired student smiled slyly at the group of males with newfound confidence and spoke up once more.

“I don’t plan on disturbing your practice, since you appear to have a break at the moment anyway. Please let Ushijima-kun know that it won’t take longer than a minute.”

 _Talking back at Reon.. That girl sure is courageous._  
Tendou turned his head to Oohira, whose face was frozen, except for the eyebrow twitching in annoyance. Semi sighed at the persistence of the girls and turned around to call for Ushijima.  
The alpha appeared in the doorframe shortly after, a deep, irritated crease between his eyebrows at the strange sight in front of him. 

“What is going on here?”

The tennis girl sported a wide grin and tugged a loose strand of auburn hair behind her ear.

“I’m sorry for calling you out, Ushijima-kun, but there is something I’d like to discuss. Would you mind to lend me a minute?”

She leaned into the direction of a secluded place by the trees and Ushijima narrowed his eyes at her. Throughout the months, Tendou had learned that the alpha always did that when he was thinking about something. After a moment of silence, the spiker took the stairs downwards and passed the group of people with a monotonous “I don’t mind.”  
The girl with the ponytail shuffled after him and the remaining females jogged away, not missing to squeal at each other right after Ushijima and their friend disappeared behind some trees. 

“The girls sure are bold these days.”

Oohira heaved out a sigh and slid one of his dark hands through his hair as he entered the gym again. Yamagata, who had stayed perfectly apathetic to the scene, followed after him. Semi and Satori were the only ones staring at the spot where the girl and Ushijima had disappeared. The blond omega turned to his friend and the crimson suspected a concerned look directed at him.

“Are you okay?”

Satori shook his head and clutched his shirt, right where his heart was located, to exaggerate the drama.

“Oh no, Semisemi.. What should I do? My precious son is getting confessed to! It’s hard to let children go these days, don’t you agree?”

A fake sniffle followed the words and Semi crossed his arms in front of his chest with an annoyed nose-scrunch. 

“You’re ridiculous, Satori. I’m serious, Ushijima and you have been practically inseparable these past months and I know that you try to cover up your insecurities with sarcasm, so spill it already.”

Satori hated Semi for his observation skills sometimes. He was so good at reading people that the crimson feared for the title ‘Guess Monster’ to multiply. He could never hide anything for too long from Semi.  
The crimson squatted down and let his arms rest on his long legs. The red gaze was downcast, watching the cold dirt crumble beneath his shoes, due to the upcoming season.

“I can’t say that I’m not bothered by it. I mean look at me, the past months have been the best of my life so far. Shiratorizawa is important to me. All the team members are and.. Wakatoshi-kun is too. I don’t want anything to destroy my paradise..”

Silence.  
Satori’s eyes remained on the ground and the seconds went by with the muffled echo of voices in the gym behind them, until Semi finally spoke up,

“Is that all there is to it?”

The crimson looked up with a slightly offended expression.

“Hey, these are my feelings you’re downgrading right now!”

Semi locked gazes with him and stared thoroughly at the other.

“I think we’re just scratching on the surface of your so-called _feelings_ , Satori. You and I know that that’s just half of the truth. If you’re interested in Ushijima and don’t want him in a relationship, well-“

“I’ll stop you right there, Semi. I don’t harbor any kinds of feelings for Wakatoshi-kun other than friendship”, the crimson had shot up from his crouching position and was sending a warning glance to his blond omega friend, “and I don’t want to endanger our team dynamics, our friendship or his career by rumors, so don’t mention this again, please.”

Semi recognized the sincere wish to let the matter drop in the other’s voice and shrugged his shoulders with a sigh. 

“Whatever, Satori. I will not address this again anytime soon, but if you should ever feel like talking, come to me.”

Just as the crimson wanted to thank the other, a movement by the trees caught their attention. The girl from before didn’t look as energetic as previously and brought distance between herself and the volleyball gym. Ushijima on the other hand, didn’t look different at all. He approached his fellow first years and Satori found his throat constricting at the situation. Oohira peeked out of the door to fetch them from their break as he caught sight of the other wing spiker. 

“Oho, if that isn’t Mr. Dreamy, right there. How did it go?”

Semi sent his fellow omega another concerned look and Satori felt his palms dampen. Ushijima looked at Oohira with an indifferent look and another crease appeared in between his eyebrows as he thought.

“She confessed her feelings of affection to me, but I told her that I have no interest in a romantic relationship until I play in the national team as a regular.”

The alpha entered the gym, leaving the other three with wide eyes and open mouths. 

“Very sensitive.. That guy has no clue about empathic behavior, does he?”

Satori let out a snort at Oohira’s comment, because yes, this was very much like Ushijima to handle things. Semi remained silent, as if deep-in-thought about Ushijima’s reasons but the crimson omega smacked a hand on his back to bring him back to reality again. 

“Practice has started, Semisemi~!”

Satori jogged back to the court and tried to ignore the wave of relief washing over his body. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Satori, my son!!! Why do I feel like crying whenever I write about him?  
> Enough of my bawling already:)  
> This was the second chapter and yes, there has literally been no physical contact between the main characters, BUT trust me.. I have some stuff planned *grinning moon emoji*  
> Please leave a kudo or/and a comment on this chapter<3 
> 
> As for the announcement I've mentioned above.. I'm thinking of creating a Tumblr account! For what purpose? Well, it's more personal and I can share a few things with you (Artwork, interests, headcanons,..), so I'll be putting the link under this chapter on Friday! (that's when I'll start to be active)
> 
> Tumblr: https://0rdinaryfangirl.tumblr.com


	3. Thank you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm here with another update!  
> The first few chapters will include rather large time skips as you might be noticing, but I'll try to make clear what happens when! Enjoy this one, because I certainly had fun writing it (especially the last part!)^^
> 
> #SaveUshiwaka2k17  
> He's such a dork.

  
***Summer of their 2nd year***

  
The long blow of the whistle signaled the end of the game. Wakatoshi landed on both of his feet after scoring the match point. The audience, dressed in maroon and white erupted in a cheer of victory and his teammates ran over to slam their palms on his back. The first one to do that was like every other game,  
Tendou.

“That was insane Wakatoshi-kun! Congrats, on taking us to the nationals! Our miracle boy will never let us down!”

His cheerful friend came running to his side with a wide grin. His crimson hair was combed upwards like always, but due to the sweat, some of the bangs hang loosely to frame his excited face. Tendou and him were the only second years in this match, but Semi, Yamagata and Oohira would join them during the spring tournament. The current third years would start to prepare for entrance exams and graduation and Wakatoshi was announced to be the team captain starting next year.  
The other team members gave him some short words of appreciation, until it was time to give their greetings to the audience and say their goodbyes to the opposing team. They bowed their heads deeply and the Shiratorizawa chant echoed through the high-ceiled hall. Wakatoshi would always remember this moment. He’d taken his team to the nationals and everyone approved of his abilities. He had always been fearless of his opponents. It wasn’t until they were in the changing room, when the alpha would experience the foreign feeling of uneasiness for the first time in his life.

 

“I’ll get drinks for everyone! We should celebrate after all! Give me your orders~”

Tendou chirped loudly and the other team members shouted their preferences in drinks. Wakatoshi was sitting on one of the benches, wiping the sweat from his forehead and remaining in a daze of victory until a familiar voice reached his thrumming ears.

“-shi-kun? Wa-ka-to-shi-kun?”

He snapped his head upwards at the call of his name and stared at Tendou’s red irises in front of him. 

“Juice for you, like always?”

The alpha blinked twice and shook his head to clear his thoughts.

“Yes. Thank you very much Tendou.”

The latter sported a smile and jogged out of the locker room calling, “I’ll be back in ten( _dou_ ) minutes~!”  
The crimson disappeared through the door and an unwelcomed premonition settled in the ace’s gut. Why hadn’t Wakatoshi gone with him at that time?

  
“Miracle boy, Wakatoshi~  
Who is it? Yes! Miracle boy, Wakatoshi!”

Satori skipped down the empty hallway of the stadium, humming his personal tune of victory. A vending machine came into sight and he fished out a few thousand yen to treat his teammates to a drink.  
They had played in their first tournament after all. And Ushijima had scored the match point, which was all the more amazing. They’d be third years next year and in a few months Semi, Yamagata and Oohira would be playing in the spring tournament with them. Satori was overjoyed and couldn’t wait to celebrate with his teammates. They had all been extremely tolerant to his surprise. When they got accepted to the club last year, he wondered if some of them were opposed to having omegas on the team, but nothing of the like. After seeing his guess blocks and Semi’s exceptional float serves, nobody had complained about their position on the team. This was Satori’s paradise.  
He drew the last drink from the machine and balanced the cans and cartons in both of his arms, making his way back to the locker room. After a few meters of walking, a stranger came into sight. Taller than Satori, maybe even taller than Ushijima, with wide shoulders and a small scar on his face, framed by blond-dyed hair. He greeted the blocker with a smile.

“Tendou Satori, if I’m not mistaken?”

Satori’s path got blocked by his built. The guy in front of him looked shady in every possible way. The omega felt dangerous vibes lingering in the air and he decided to get this over with as quickly as possible. 

“Yes, that’s me. I’m not in the condition to give you my autograph right now, so if you’ll excuse me.”

The crimson-haired student made an attempt to walk past the other, but an outstretched arm stopped him. The smile on the stranger’s face got wider. 

“That’s too bad.. But maybe you can compensate for the autograph. Hmm?”

Everything about this alpha made the omega feel uneasy. Satori narrowed his eyes and maneuvered his way along the wall, just to be trapped by two prominently muscled arms. The middle blocker scrunched his nose at the stench the alpha stranger off. Alpha’s scents were supposed to attract omegas but this guy just smelled heavy and disgusting. He stinked. Satori felt like throwing up. The unknown alpha leaned down and whispered to his ear,

“You must know, I saw you play just now. I’m into hard-to-get omegas like you. Let’s have some fun, shall we..”

Something slimy and wet touched Satori’s ear and that did the deal. The omega let go of the drinks in his arms, letting them fall to the floor with a loud clatter. He used the moment of confusion and kicked the unknown man in the balls with all of his remaining strength. The alpha sank to the floor in a wince of pain and Satori freed from the trap between the other’s strong arms. He started running down the hallway, ignoring the curses behind him, until he reached their locker room. Not even taking a moment to collect himself, he opened the door and shut it right away, locking it just to be safe.  
He got greeted by confused looks from his teammates and Semi was the first to approach him.

“Satori? Are you okay?”

He was out of breath and it was undeniable that his hands and knees were shaking like leaves in autumn. As Semi took another step into his direction, a look of displeasure contorted his face. 

“That smell.. Satori, don’t tell me..?”

The crimson-haired omega slid down the door and started laughing weakly, running his trembling hands through his sweaty, red bangs.

“Haha.. ha.. Yeah.. But I gave him a piece of my mind..”

The other players in the room seemed to slowly catch up on the situation and backed away, as to not scare the omega further. The only person walking to Satori’s side other than Semi was of course, Ushijima Wakatoshi. 

“Tendou? What happened? How come that you smell of an alpha?”

He extended a hand to check on Satori’s condition, but the latter flinched away to hide behind Semi, an instinctive reaction to unwelcomed physical contact. The other omega swatted the alpha’s hand away and glared daggers at the clueless man.

“Damn it! Read the situation, Ushijima! Back off and leave with the other alphas, would you?!”

Semi rarely ever got loud, so the irritation showing in the alpha’s features wasn’t surprising. Yamagata appeared behind Ushijima and assured him that it would be better to leave the matter to Semi. He earned himself a look of disbelief from the future team captain, but it wasn’t long until the alphas left. Each of them gave a worried look to Satori and an encouraging one to Semi.  
Now, it was just Satori, Semi and their first year Shirabu, who was by chance also an omega. The blond pinch server sat down beside Satori and wrapped an arm around the crimson’s waist, while Shirabu quickly went to get a bottle of water.

“What happened, Satori?”

Satori raised his head from his knees and gave a shaky smile. They talked about how the unknown alpha had waited for Satori in the hallway, how he didn’t know his name and how he trapped him so he couldn’t get away. Shirabu had sat down with them and listened closely, since it wasn’t uncommon for omegas to get sexually assaulted because of their second gender. After twenty minutes of talking and cursing the unknown alpha, the crimson had calmed down.

“Thank you both for staying here with me, but I’d really like to get home and take a shower now.”

Satori stood up and took a last gulp of the bottle, finally packing up his belongings and slinging the bag over his shoulder. Semi and Shirabu offered understanding smiles and made sure to accompany him all the way to the bus, thoroughly checking if there was any suspicious stranger on their way out of the stadium.  
It was already evening and the whole team was extremely exhausted. Nevertheless, they had waited with their departure until Satori and the other omegas lastly walked to the Shiratorizawa bus. Apparently, three people had stayed outside of the vehicle to talk to them. The coaches were waiting to ask questions on the incident and Satori was grateful that Semi and Shirabu offered to answer them in his place. The other person waiting in front of the bus was.. Ushijima.  
The slightly taller male looked at Satori with an unreadable expression as he approached him.

“Tendou, I-“

The middle blocker extended his hand to stop Ushijima’s apology.

“There’s nothing to apologize for Wakatoshi-kun.”

The alpha frowned in irritation.

“Yes, there is. I apologize for not being able to read the situation well enough and I apologize for invading your personal space, when your emotional state was instable. Our upperclassmen explained the.. _incident_ to me and I understand that what I did was absolutely unreasonable behavior. Therefore, I’m very sorry.”

He bowed his head deeply and the clenched fists to his sides were proof for how sincere this apology was. Not that anything coming from Ushijima wasn’t serious. This guy was always serious to the bone. Satori shook his head and placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“Thank you, Wakatoshi-kun. I’ll gladly forgive you _(even though you really didn’t do anything wrong, doof!)._ ”

The last part, Satori only thought to himself, as to not ruin this moment of friendship.  
The alpha raised his head and hesitated for a moment, clearly wanting to add more. The crimson-haired omega waited for the rest patiently.

“I don’t know if I’m in any position to say this, but I’d offer you my jacket if you want it.”

Satori’s jaw dropped.

“Hah?”

Ushijima’s olive gaze found his confused one and he explained matter-of-factly,

“If you find my scent less displeasing then the one from the _other alpha_ ”, the captain-to-be spat the word out like it was some kind of parasite he was talking about, “I’d offer you my jacket to cover up that scent for the time being.”

Comprehension dawned on Satori’s features and he couldn’t suppress the heat creeping up his neck and tinging his ears a light shade of pink. _Shit, I hope he didn’t see that!_  
His red irises fixated on an invisible, suddenly very interesting spot on the concrete floor.

“Only if you insist.”

“I do.”

A short rustle of clothes and a jacket, colored in maroon and white, appeared in his vision. Satori looked from the jacket to the alpha in front of him and found that he was completely serious with offering the jacket. It left Ushijima in his black T-shirt, but it was summer so Satori wouldn’t need to feel bad if he accepted. And so he did.  
He set his bag down, took off his own jacket and slid into Ushijima’s. Due to the latter’s muscular built, it was a little too big on him, but that couldn’t stop the grateful smile from forming on his face.

“Thank you.”

They said it at the same time. Ushijima and Satori stared at each other in confusion, but neither commented on it. They climbed the stairs of the bus and Satori took his place next to Semi in the back, while Ushijima sat down next to Oohira in the front. The crimson didn’t miss to give a small wave to every team member in an attempt to assure them of his well-being. He slumped down next to Semi and got greeted by a raised eyebrow. 

“That is not your jacket.”

Satori leaned forward to grab his phone from his bag and murmured,

“Really? I didn’t even notice.”

Semi rolled his eyes and Satori knew that he wanted to hear the whole story. The engine of the bus started vibrating and the vehicle finally moved out of its parking lot.

“Woah, stop the sarcasm right there. I know it is Ushijima’s, since it smells like him so don’t try to deny anything. Why do you have it?”

The blocker leaned back in his seat and untangled his earphones, still trying to avoid Semi’s eyes.

“He gave it to me. It’s supposed to cover up the scent of that unknown alpha from before.”

He could feel Semi’s eyes widen, even without looking. Why did it feel so embarrassing to verbalize it? It was a nice gesture between friends, that’s all.

“Wow.. who could have imagined our socially awkward Ushijima doing something so sweet on his own accord?” 

Satori sighed and went back to selecting a song on his phone.

“As if he could think that far, Semisemi. I think he did it to regain his clear conscience.”

With that, the crimson closed his eyes and played the first song from his ‘Anime Openings’ playlist, not registering the amused smirk Semi wore when he looked at the blurring landscape.  
Satori’s senses faded, the exhaustion finally taking over his body. The fabric on his arms felt comforting and the faint smell of soil and grass filled his nostrils. It smelt of hard work and home, of family and affection. Subconsciously, the omega buried his nose in the collar of the jacket and inhaled the earthy odor. 

_“Thank you.”_

Why had Ushijima thanked him?

  
  
***Autumn of their 2nd year***

  
  
“I just wanted you guys to know, but I’m planning on courting Semi.”

The three alphas were having lunch on the rooftop, since Satori and Semi were busy with a project and their classroom was occupied at the moment. Oohira’s eyes went wide, but a smile replaced the surprised expression quickly. The tanned alpha leaned forward and clapped his friend on the shoulder.

“That’s great news, Hayato! Have you talked it over with the coach? And when are you going to ask the lucky guy?”

Yamagata let out a sigh of relief. He sported one of his rare smiles, replying,

“Washijo-san said it’s no problem, as long as I don’t make a scene during practice. And concerning the other matter.. probably tomorrow?”

Oohira let out a hearty laugh and earned some irritated looks from the surrounding students on the roof. 

“Great! I’ll support you guys with all my might! Right, Wakatoshi?”

The addressed spiker looked up from his Yakisoba bread, making the impression as if he hasn’t been listening. But apparently, he was. He just never thought about things like secondary genders or courting. He drew his eyebrows together and looked at Yamagata with a serious expression.

“I approve of your decision to take that step, Yamagata. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t forget about your responsibility as our libero. You are a very dependable part of our team, so don’t let your emotions affect your play here at Shiratorizawa.”

Yamagata stared back at the stern, olive-colored irises and gulped down the bite he had taken, while Oohira laughed even louder at Wakatoshi’s comment. 

“Ahaha! If that wasn’t an accurate response of our ever serious ace! Don’t worry Wakatoshi, Hayato will continue to play his part as our libero. He’s just interested in getting to know Semi better, that’s all.”

Yamagata sent a glare to the laughing alpha with a blush tinging his cheeks. Still, he replied with a mumble, 

“I won’t slack off at practice.”

Oohira smiled fondly at the cute reaction of his fellow alpha and Wakatoshi simply nodded at Yamagata’s promise to continue to give his best. Since that was the only thing he’d understood from their verbal exchange.  
After some banter about how Yamagata should ask Semi about the courting, Oohira directed his attention to Wakatoshi again.

“What about you, future captain? Are you currently interested in someone?”

Even Yamagata and his ever apparent scowl seemed to perk up on the question. They had never talked about these kinds of things and the ace clearly felt uncomfortable about the matter. He cleared his throat and responded, matter-of-factly,

“I have no intention of seeing anyone at the moment. My concentration lies on the team’s results and my career. Nothing else.”

Oohira took a sip from his juice box, but didn’t show any sign of dropping the matter just yet. 

“Yeah, I understand that, with your opportunity to play in the U18 national team and all.. But don’t you sometimes wish you had someone to give you mental support too? Like cheering and you know, _physical contact_?”

Wakatoshi thought about it for a moment and replied with a straight face,

“I do have someone, to whom those criteria apply.”

Yamagata violently choked on his drink, while Oohira broke out in a proud smile.

“I knew it! How could someone like you not have a cute omega for mental and _physical_ support?”

The dark alpha winked at that last part and Yamagata still appeared to be quite shocked, proven by the milk dripping from his nostrils. Their reaction confused Wakatoshi, so he tried to clear any possible misunderstandings with the next comment,

“I indeed believe he is an omega, but would you consider Tendou as cute?”

Oohira’s wide smile disappeared in an instant and Yamagata stopped cleaning his uniform from milk stains. They looked at each other, before staring at their fellow alpha with unreadable expressions.

“With Tendou.. you mean Tendou Satori?”

Wakatoshi nodded in affirmatively, taking a sip from his own juice box. Oohira shook his head and slid a hand through his short, dark-brown hair.

“Would you mind elaborating that, Wakatoshi?”

The other alphas held their breaths and an uncomfortable silence settled between the three, until the olive-eyed teen finally set his drink down, ready to speak again,

“I feel that the nickname ‘Miracle Boy’, which Tendou calls me from time to time, can be considered as a special kind of mental cheering. Furthermore, he never misses to slap my back when I scored a point successfully, so that confirms the aspect of physical support.”

Yamagata and Oohira blinked, before releasing their held breaths. The first to speak was the dark-tanned alpha, who gave out a weak laugh,

“Haha.. you scared me for a minute there.”

Yamagata on the other hand, looked at the Yakisoba bread at his feet, unable to meet the ace’s serious face after the breathless tension from just a moment ago.  
Before they could discuss the matter any further, two familiar faces appeared from around the corner. 

“Hey guys~! Sorry for the wait, but Semisemi couldn’t stop criticizing my work.”

The cheerful redhead plopped down between Oohira and Ushijima, already going on about how heartless their teacher was for assigning so much work to them both, while Semi sat down next to Yamagata, sighing. The omega eyed the libero’s appearance in confusion and pointed a finger to one of the noticeably darker spots on the light blue shirt of their uniform.

“What happened?”

The alpha leaned back and rested his head against the wall, mumbling quietly so only Semi could hear,

“Interesting developments in our squad, I suppose. That guy,” he gave a quick glance to their future captain, “can be so oblivious sometimes.”

Semi raised a questioning eyebrow, but didn’t ask about the empty explanation any further. The omega’s eyes rested on Satori, who was gesticulating wildly about a new episode of some anime, making the blond’s lips quirk up in a fond smile. Yamagata gazed at his expression for a moment, before his mouth let the words slip free,

“Semi?”

The omega’s walnut-brown eyes turned back to the libero.

“Yes?”

“Are you free after school tomorrow? There’s something I’d like to ask you..”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GataSemi at the end, though! \\(^-^)/ <3  
> I'll continue to alternate beween the points of view and if you ever wonder, whose head I'm in: I'll use "Satori" for my precious mushroom child and "Wakatoshi" for the secret farmer boy! (Don't mind the nicknames, they're just too adorable.)  
> Next Thursday -> next chapter  
> But if you want to stay updated on the progress of my fics and/or check out my artwork, follow me on Tumblr:  
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/0rdinaryfangirl
> 
> Don't forget to leave a comment and kudos on this chapter:)


	4. Echoes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Schedule for the next six hours (It's almost 1:00am):  
> Update this fic,  
> Rewatch Kuroko no Basuke for the remaining few hours (because sleep is for the weak),  
> Get up at 5 to pack my stuff,  
> Leave the house at 6,  
> Take the train to Paris.  
> That's right, I'll be gone for the weekend and had an absolutely exhausting day today, but updates are important so here it is!  
> Have fun<3
> 
> (This is over 4k words btw, so enjoy the slightly longer chapter:))

**  
*December of their 2nd year***

 

“Wakatoshi-kun! What are you scowling about?”

The alpha looked up at the call of his name and saw a familiar redhead approach him from the serving counter with a tray. The cafeteria was quite crowded and Wakatoshi had settled down at an empty table near the window front to get his thoughts in order. Tendou plopped down opposite of him and the ace studied the other’s meal with a blank stare. It consisted of miso soup, soft noodles, a boiled egg, vegetables and a box of chocolate milk. Shiratorizawa Academy was famous for their healthy, well-balanced and energy-efficient range in lunches, due to their specialization in nurturing athletes. The crimson eyed his food happily, separated the chopsticks and pressed his palms together, chirping the usual “Itadakimasu!”, before finally bathing a few of the noodles in the steaming soup. They sat in silence, Tendou enjoying his meal and Wakatoshi looking out of the window, for a couple of minutes.

“Sooo, what’s been bothering you?”

The ace turned his head to meet the other’s red irises. Tendou was tilting his head to the side, the indication of him being sincerely interested in something. The alpha returned the gaze and put his chopsticks down with a frown.

“My Japanese literature teacher informed me about my low grade on the last test. I believe that I could not meet his expectations, although I don’t know why exactly that is the case..”

That’s right, Wakatoshi was troubled. If his grades did not get better, he had to cut the club activities against his will and he certainly would not let that happen as the ace and future captain of the team. Still, he had no idea why he had gotten a rather low score on the test. He had studied for it and felt sure of his answers when he filled in all of the blanks on the test paper. Tendou was swirling a few of his noodles in the broth of the miso soup and wore a thoughtful expression. Then, he lightened up and grinned at the alpha with an outstretched hand.

“Well, I nail Jap literature, so if you’d like me to look your test over, we could find the mistakes together. How about it?”

Wakatoshi blinked at the surprising offer. Not that he didn’t want the help, but in his childhood, he had always learned to solve his problems alone, as to not bother the people around him too much. He wasn’t used to selfless kindness. But it was undeniable that the crimson scored high points on the subject and it was important to improve his marks by the end of the month again.. His fingers were twitching around his juice box.

“I don’t want to overexert your kindness, Tendou. I-“

“See it as compensation for the maths and science study sessions! You can’t argue with me trying to return the favor, can you?”

The omega had turned his entire attention from the meal to the spiker in front of him. His red eyes were shining, proving the sincerity of the offer and his mouth was quirked up in a half smile some people might even consider as shy. Wakatoshi couldn’t find a reason to say no. He cleared his throat with a cough and straightened in his posture.

“I.. would be certainly be grateful if-”

“It’s settled then!”

Tendou threw his hands up in victory and looked at the alpha. He was beaming, radiating, grinning impossibly wide, at him.  
All of the sudden, the ace’s throat felt dry. Had he not drunk enough?  
His neck heated up involuntarily. Why was it this warm in December?  
The heart in his suddenly very tight chest sped up. He hadn’t physically exhausted himself, had he?

“Wakatoshi-kun? You’re scowling at me..?”, Tendou’s overwhelmingly happy expression from before shifted to uncertain and anxious again, “I didn’t mean to push you or anything..”

The captain snapped out of his daze with a blink and realized that he had been staring at the crimson quite intensely for the past moments.

“I.. no.. uhm.. here.”

Had he just stammered? When had he ever stammered before? Never. Wakatoshi couldn’t remember himself ever tripping over his well laid out words in his whole life. Was he getting sick?  
With a damp palm (Why was it damp? Had he sweated?) , the alpha fished for a specific sheet of paper in his bag. He stretched his arm out to the crimson, without looking him in the eyes. The other accepted it with a raised eyebrow and started skimming the text on it.  
Silence. They weren’t talking for at least five minutes, Tendou reading the text and Wakatoshi looking out of the window with an empty stare. The other students in the cafeteria kept being oblivious to their situation and continued with their own agitated conversations.

“Pfft~!”

The alpha turned his head to see the crimson’s shoulders shaking with laughter. His frown deepened and he found himself wondering, what part of the test had been funny.

“Is something the matter?”

Tendou’s eyes were glistening with unshed tears and the wide smile plastered on his face, was an indication for a humorous development, Wakatoshi must have missed. The omega looked at him and dabbed the tears from the edges of his eyes with a hand.

“Wakatoshi-kun.. The topic of the test was _Modern Japanese and its use in our daily lives_.”

“Yes, I am well aware of that.”

“Ok, then why did you use vocabulary from the Showa Era?”

 _What?_  
The alpha narrowed his eyes in confusion.  
His friend on the other hand, pointed at one of the many spaces, Wakatoshi had needed to fill in during the test and wore a more or less amused expression.

“This for example. The sentence says: ‘Did Kenji really face that opponent, despite his own inferiority? That was so _____ of him!’ The word your teacher wants to hear is ‘ _brave_ ’, Wakatoshi-kun. You came up with ‘ _intrepid_ ’. It’s not wrong, but it’s not something everyone uses. Too old-fashioned, you know? Shit, I don’t even know half of the kanji you used!”

At the last part, Tendou squint his eyes at the paper, as if trying to decipher a few other kanji, but in the end, he sighed in defeat.

“I see, so my lack of knowledge in modern vocabulary was the reason for my failure on the assigned evaluation?”

The crimson carded a hand through his up-styled hair and let out a desperate huff, murmuring something along the lines of “You’re doing it again” to himself. Wakatoshi eyed the test on the table and seemed to wear a rather worried expression, because Tendou crossed his arms over his chest and cleared his throat.

“One bad mark won’t throw you behind, so don’t worry too much, Wakatoshi-kun! What’s the topic of your next test?”

The alpha thought about it for a moment and his olive gaze met Tendou’s red one, when he remembered.

“ _Japanese of the Meiji and Taisho era_.”

The omega blinked at him and threw his head back at the realization of the statement. He was laughing out loud, making the students at the surrounding tables turn to them in irritation. The crimson’s shoulders were vibrating, the tears had gathered at the corners of his eyes and by now, the color of his face matched his hair. The huffs and pants between the bursts of laughter almost appeared unhealthy, but after a good minute of full blown cackling, the previously loud noise turned to snorts and then to quiet snickers. Wakatoshi remained silent and perfectly apathetic to the situation and frowned at his team mate instead of trying to calm him down.

“Have I said something worth of laughing?”

Tendou looked at his lost expression and he stood up to take back his tray with the empty bowls, not missing to send him another wide grin.

“Nah, I’m just relieved. You’ll get a full score on the next test.”

With that the omega left and Wakatoshi remained on his spot at the table. The people around him were talking, arguing or giggling, but everything the alpha could concentrate on, was the echo of Tendou’s laughter in his ears.

  
  
  
***February of their 2nd year***

  
  
  
_Oshiete oshiete yo sono shikumi wo._

A lanky arm appeared from under a dark blue blanket, fishing for the source of the tune on his wooden nightstand.

_Boku no naka ni dare ka iru-_

“I swear to god Semisemi, if it’s about Gatachin’s Valentine’s chocolate again, I’m going to strangle you..”

A bundle of red locks freed from their position under the blanket, along with the head they’re attached to. Satori’s face was contorted in annoyance and he tried to block out the light from the window next to him with the one arm, not holding the phone to his ear.  
The voice on the other end of the line sounded just as annoyed,

_“I’ve taken care of the matter concerning Hayato’s chocolate yesterday, but thank you for asking, Mr. Unselfish. No, it’s about something else..”_

Satori finally got used to the bright rays coming from the beige curtains and opened his tired eyes. He looked sideways, to find the clock showing **7:10am**.

“Ughh.. Semisemi, you know that I just got off my heat, so what could be the important reason for you to interrupt my well-needed sleep?”

_“Satori.. You’re my best friend but you’RE PISSING ME OFF SOMUCHRIGHTNOW!”_

The redhead jumped in his bed and quickly distanced the speaker from his sensitive ears at the shouting, now being wide awake.

“What the hell? Please calm down and tell me what happened.”

The irritated crimson was sitting in his bed now and looked at the mess he had made in the past few days. Pillows and blankets were scattered all over the place, a water bottle, barely touched on his nightstand and he was bathed in a disgustingly sweet smell fading little by little, which Satori was grateful for.

_“I overheard a conversation between Coach Washijo and Ushijima the other day.. Apparently, he won’t be able to attend the practice game on Saturday because of an omiai..”_

Satori’s heart skipped a beat at Semi’s words. He let out a sigh and combed back some of the sweaty bangs, loosely framing his face.

“And?”

He heard the other take a deep breath at his brief and rather empty answer.

_“’AND’?! THAT’S THE ONLY THING YOU HAVE TO SAY?! USHIJIMA WAKATOSHI WILL HAVE A MARRIAGE INTERVIEW AND YOUR REACTION IS A FUCKING ‘AND’?!”_

The redhead started peeling himself out of the massive amount of blankets, not feeling anything but dirty with his current appearance.

“What do you expect me to say, Semi? If he wants to go, he should. Still, I’m a little surprised about the timing.. He has never been the one to show interest in these kinds of things.”

Satori was still naked and his body was sticky with fluids, he’d rather not like to elaborate on. His messy hair, usually styled upwards, fell straight to his face and to the sides. He looked much younger with his hair down and he also felt much more vulnerable. He grabbed the bottle form the nightstand and uncapped it quickly, feeling the dehydration by now.

_“Damn, Satori. You should talk about it with him. You two are our team’s power pairing and both of us know that you wouldn’t exactly oppose to the idea of taking your friendship to the next level.”_

Satori choked on the water and let out a few violent coughs, trying to regain his composure.

“Semi.. I never said that I.. I mean.. I don’t want..”

_“Yeah, you don’t want an alpha, I know. But what if you realize someday that you should’ve taken the chances you had before. It might be too late by then. I know that Ushijima is as dumb as a brick and has the social awkwardness of a potato, but remember the jacket incident last summer? That was damn smooth of him, even if he didn’t realize.”_

Satori, who had calmed down again by now, scowled in irritation,

“Yeah, that’s the point Semi! He didn’t realize, so it didn’t mean anything to him. It’s all the more proof that he hasn’t even considered me in _that_ way. Don’t worry about me, Semi. Wakatoshi can meet whoever he wants. It’s none of my concern. If you’ll excuse me now, I need to shower.”

_“Satori..”_

The crimson-haired omega hung up, before his friend could comment on the matter any further. But it was true what Satori had said. It really was none of his concern who Ushijima met privately. They didn’t have that kind of relationship, after all.  
Satori knew that Semi was just trying to help him, but he had started his courtship with Yamagata last autumn, so he would be better off to just concentrate on his own fortune.  
The redhead stood up from his bed with shaky legs and stumbled to the door.

“Satori? Are you awake?”

The warm voice of his mother sounded from downstairs as he stepped in the hallway.

“Yeah. I’ll be taking a bath.”

He disappeared in the bathroom and immediately turned the handle to let hot water fill the tub slowly. After about two minutes, Satori settled in the soothing warmth and let the aching muscles in his limbs relax. The steam, coming from the tub, created a comfortable humidity and the boy started to carefully wash every inch of his body. He always felt so dirty after his heats (even though all of the fluids he found so disgusting were his own) and made sure to clean himself up properly. He washed his hair and stepped out of the bath shortly after, with more strength than before.  
He slipped into a pair of sweatpants, a baggy T-Shirt with the seven Dragon Balls on it and dried his hair with a towel. At these times, he didn’t care if he looked like a child, since heats weren’t exactly the best thing to deal with.  
A yawn escaped his lips and he was grateful that his mother had already disposed of the dirty bed sheets and blankets when he stepped into his room. He grabbed his phone, to check if there had been any urgent messages the past days and groggily walked downstairs into the kitchen, where a healthy and energy-efficient breakfast already awaited him.  
He sat down at the table and downed a glass of juice right away.

“I made your favorites, so dig in.”

Probably coming from the laundry room, the blue eyes of his mother greeted him like every other morning, as if he hadn’t spent the last five days masturbating in his room. Throughout the years, Satori didn’t find the will to care anymore.

“Thanks, mom.”

She leaned down and kissed his crimson roots before replying,

“Everything for you, angel.”

Satori gobbled down a few pieces of toast, a pancake, two apples and three glasses of water before finally checking his messages. There were a few from the first years, Shirabu and Kawanishi, one from Oohira about his Jap literature notes and the latest one was from Semi.

  
**7:16am**  
**From: Semisemi~**  
_Hey Satori, I know that you don’t want to talk about it, but at least ask Ushijima what he thinks about the whole “omiai” thing. I don’t believe that the cow(-boy) really wants to see someone privately (-.-‘)_  
_Call me if you need an open ear._  
_Semi_

  
Satori snorted at the nickname and flopped back in his chair. Maybe Semi was right. Maybe the whole omiai story was a misunderstanding and the crimson was worrying over nothing. His mother was humming at the kitchen counter and the omega decided to at least check with his alpha friend if the story was true. Ushijima owned a phone and he always replied to texts, but would never send them on his own accord.

  
**7:55am**  
**To: Miracle Boy~**  
_Good morning!\\(^-^)/_  
_Hope, you haven’t missed me too much the past week;-)_  
_I heard that you’ll be attending an omiai? What a surprise! Congrats, I guess ( >.<)_

  
After hitting the **Send** button, Satori’s heart picked up in pace. What was he hoping for exactly? Shouldn’t he be happy for his friend if he found happiness? The crimson knew that the alpha’s family was financially well-off and their son was a representative of the Japanese U18 volleyball team, after all. It wasn’t surprising that they’d try to find a partner that suits an alpha like him. His phone vibrated and Satori flinched at the sound. He opened his new message with slightly trembling fingers.

  
**7:58am**  
**From: Miracle Boy~**  
_Good morning to you too._  
_I assume that your condition is stable again?_  
_Indeed, the team was at a loss, without you as its middle blocker._

  
Satori wanted to vanish on the spot. Ushijima knew that he had been in heat this week, so he could as well translate the second sentence into: _“I believe you finished masturbating for five days because of your gross, omegan instincts?”_ He would definitely not answer to that.  
The next phrase made him smile. Not getting, that Satori had meant the alpha specifically, when he had asked if he had missed him, was so Ushijima.  
A second message arrived with a little notification banner. The crimson, still wearing the grin from before, tapped on it to read just two simple words.

  
**7:59am**  
**From: Miracle Boy~**  
_Thank you._

  
Satori’s smile faded. He knew what that meant. Semi hadn’t heard wrong. Ushijima was really attending and omiai and not even trying to deny it.

“Angel, are you alright?”

His mother had caught him staring at his phone. The clock showed **8:05am**. He had been staring at the display for six minutes. Satori quickly sported a too wide grin and stood up from the table in a swift movement.

“Yep~ I feel greater than great after eating breakfast! I need to catch up on some homework, so I’ll be upstairs. Thank you for the food.”

Trying to avoid further questions, the omega jogged up the stairs and closed the door to his room behind him. Giving out a weak laugh, he thought: _Great. I feel so much better, Semi._

 

***5 days before***

 

Wakatoshi was replacing the infertile soil in his grandmother’s spacious garden, when she approached him from behind.

“Thank you for coming over, Wakatoshi. I just can’t entrust the gardeners with my precious peonies.”

The alpha wiped his sweaty forehead and cut a few of the stems, before rising to his feet.

“It’s important to inspect them thoroughly after the cold season, so I don’t see a problem in taking care of them for you, grandmother.”

The elderly woman in her yukata nodded gratefully and looked at the ripening cherry buds from one of the trees in her garden. Wakatoshi grabbed the gardening tools and started walking over to the shed, next to huge, traditional residence.

“Your mother is making tea at the moment, so please come inside for a chat, whenever you’re finished!”

His grandmother called after him and the teen gave a nod in approval.  
He entered the living room shortly after, where his mother and grandmother were already kneeling in front of steaming, green tea. While his grandmother’s expression had softened over the years, his mother’s features were as hard as ever. She had black hair, modernly cut to shoulder length. Her skin was fair and her eyes the color of dark, unsweetened coffee. Wakatoshi sat down with crossed legs and carefully took a sip of the warm liquid in his cup. His mother’s gaze landed on him and she set her own cup down, before speaking up,

“Wakatoshi.”

The alpha met her dark eyes and answered equally serious,

“Yes, mother?”

The woman in her early forties narrowed her eyes on him,

“In April, your last year at Shiratorizawa Academy will commence and you’ll be turning 18 in August. Your success as a professional volleyball player is marvelous and I believe you’re planning on joining the Japanese’s national team in the future, right?”

The male nodded in confirmation.

“Neither your grandmother, nor me doubt that you’re highly capable of achieving that goal with your skill, but we’re worried about another aspect of your future.”

Wakatoshi raised a questioning eyebrow, but politely let her continue. She glanced at her own mother, who gave an assuring nod.

“We believe that you should start looking for a suitable partner.”

Her son’s eyebrows lowered into a deep frown and after a sheer endless silence, he replied almost monotonously,

“I’m grateful for your concern, mother. Still, I have no intention of starting a relationship like that with someone. I don’t have the time to look for a suitable person, as my career comes first.”

His mother sighed in defeat at the straight-forward answer, but the elderly woman grabbed her hand in a manner of comfort and looked at her grandson with a smile.

“We know that this isn’t the most appropriate time, Wakatoshi. Still, it would make me and your mother happy, to see you agree on an omiai. One of my acquaintances has an omegan granddaughter your age. She’s truly beautiful and well-mannered. I met her once and she’ll leave a good impression on you, if you agree to meet her!”

Wakatoshi blinked. How was he supposed to answer that? He didn’t have any need for a partner and he certainly didn’t plan on taking interest in anyone during the next year or any time after. Both of the women looked at him expectantly. He let out a sigh,

“I agree on one single meeting. I do not plan on starting a relationship with this woman, so after one formal omiai, you will let me concentrate on my studies and my career?”

The women beamed at him and they nodded in agreement.

“You won’t regret it, Wakatoshi! The meeting is scheduled for the 19th of February at her grandparent’s residence.”  
For some reason, Wakatoshi felt unseasy with the outcome. It was just one single meeting to make his family happy, so why did he feel uneasy? He had made the right decision, right?

 

  
***19th of February***

 

  
Wakatoshi felt uncomfortable. Well, there were many times when he felt uncomfortable, for example when he was confronted with a talented opponent during a game, or when his friends talked about something he didn’t understand. But now he felt like he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. He didn’t belong here.  
His hair was combed backwards and he was wearing a suit. They were driving to their destination and his grandmother was sitting next to him in the car, wearing a formal yukata.

“Are you by any chance nervous, Wakatoshi?”

He turned his head to look at her warm smile. She rarely ever wore make up, but today was a special occasion after all, so her lips glistened in a shade of red, contrasting her fair skin. Wakatoshi had inherited his looks from his father. The hair, the tanned skin and the physical built. He hadn’t seen him in months and neither did he tell him about this arrangement.  
The boy met his grandmother’s soft gaze and replied sternly,

“No, I am rarely ever nervous, grandmother.”

The elderly woman let out a laugh, covering her mouth with her lightly wrinkling fingers.

“Of course, I’m sorry for assuming that! You know, I also met your grandfather at an omiai.”

Her chuckle quieted down and longing expression, accompanied with a sad smile appeared on her features as she turned her head to watch the landscape rush by.

“I didn’t want to agree to a matchmaking at first, but after getting to know him.. Let’s say I was thankful to my parents urging me to go.”

Wakatoshi listened carefully and the tense atmosphere from just a few moments before, started to slowly fade.

“Unfortunately, he passed away when you were just a few months old, so you never really got to meet him, Wakatoshi. Your own father, Takashi, reminds me a lot of him. They always wished for your mother’s and my happiness and sacrificed a lot to be with us.”

The boy felt a warmth bloom in his chest at the mention of his father. He had taught him volleyball as a child and supported him to keep his left-handedness as a weapon for later. He was truly thankful to him and wanted to make him proud by becoming the ace of the Japanese national volleyball team. Maybe, they could play together again someday.

“Your grandfather and Takashi were our happiness and I wish for you to find your source happiness too, Wakatoshi.”

His grandmother had turned to him by now and her eyes looked watery, as she showed him an affectionate smile. Wakatoshi wanted to thank his grandmother and tell her that he’d try to make a good impression on the woman, just when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He unlocked the device and read the message he had received just now.

  
  
**1:42pm**  
**From: Satori Tendou**  
_Hiyaa Miracle Boy~!_  
_You must be on your way to the omiai by now, but I thought I’d wish you luck before you get there!_  
_So: Good Luck! \\(^-^)/_

_P.S. Don’t be so stiff! I bet on my manga collection that she’ll like you!;-)_

  
  
Wakatoshi unconsciously clenched his phone as he stared at the message. The older woman to his right eyed him curiously.

“Is something the matter, Wakatoshi?”

The alpha’s head turned to look outside of the window, the device still firm in his hand.

“I’m perfectly fine. One of my teammates wished me luck on the meeting.”

His grandmother’s eyes widened. She couldn’t clearly see her grandchild’s face entirely, but his jaw was clenched tightly and his olive eyes reflected something similar to.. _Confusion? Disappointment?_  
He refused to look at the phone in his hand, until the car finally came to a halt. Wakatoshi opened the door and stepped outside, purposely leaving the device on the seat.  
The woman eyed the object of her curiosity, before following after her grandchild. Whoever the person behind the message was, he or she was unmistakably special to the alpha.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The cafeteria scene is supposed to be a filler, but as you might have noticed during their convo, Wakatoshi is too innocent for this world (Protect him!)  
> Who else had to sing the Tokyo Ghoul opening along? Raise your hands!:D  
> Follow me on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/0rdinaryfangirl) for fanart, keeping track on my updates, possible delays, or simply to chat about stuff;)  
> Next chapter on Thursday again, so see you next week or on my blog<3
> 
> (Feedback through Kudos and comments is very much appreciated! \\(^-^)/)


	5. Chocolate and Cinnamon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am with yet another update<3  
> I felt so conflicted, because I couldn't cut this chapter ANYWHERE and didn't want to write another filler! We have to get on with the plot and therefore, here you have almost 8k words of UshiTen..!*sweats a little*  
> Enjoy this long ass excerpt, because I'm trash and can't seem to stop myself from making my children suffer little by little..^^'

 

***August of their 3 rd year***

“Nice serve, Wakatoshi!”

They were having a practice match at the moment and the alpha was about to hit another powerful serve over the net. Their new alpha first year, Goshiki Tsutomu bounced up and down on the opposite side of the court, waiting to spike the ball, should it come to him. Satori smirked at the excited first year, murmuring something along the lines of “When, we graduate, you’ll become Shiratorizawa’s ace, Tsutomu!”  
The raven practically beamed at him and nodded furiously, “YES, TENDOU-SENPAI!”

The practice went by without any surprises, resulting in an easy 25-20 victory for Ushijima’s and Satori’s team. Still, the latter panted rather heavily as he wiped the sweat of his face and neck. Semi walked up to him and offered a bottle of water.

“You okay?”

The crimson gladly accepted the item and eagerly downed half of the content. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and sported one of his Cheshire grins.

“My condition is at its peak like always, Semisemi~!”

The blond omega raised an eyebrow and waited for the other to continue, not yet satisfied with Satori’s reply. The middle blocker met his concerned gaze and sighed, whispering,

“Well,.. My heat’s coming up, so I might not be in top shape right now..”

Semi nodded and wiped his own neck, giving a quick glance to Ushijima, who had to endure Goshiki’s full attention.

“When?”

Satori took another gulp of the bottle, grabbing his belongings, before walking into the direction of the locker room with Semi at his side.

“The day after tomorrow. And yes, I will attend the practice tomorrow Semi, so don’t even try to convince me otherwise. Coach Washijo will announce who’ll play in the spring tournament and I don’t want to miss on Tsutomu getting a heart attack, because he’ll be our only first year regular.”

The crimson omega smirked at the thought, while Semi grabbed his biceps in an attempt to make him pay attention.

“Listen, Satori. You were lucky with the schedule of your heats so far, but you know that physical exhaustion and stress can jump start a heat. We have countless alphas on the team and I don’t want to face them when you collapse in the gym. Your stamina ran out pretty quickly today, so don’t risk the good team dynamics we have at the moment and stay home tomorrow.”

Semi’s face showed no sign of amusement, he was dead serious. His brown eyes met Satori’s red ones in an intense gaze. The crimson gulped and shook his head.

“Don’t worry, Semi. I know what I can do and what I can’t. Trust me, I’ll go home right after practice tomorrow and stay in bed for a few days! Not that I could go elsewhere in that state.”

The blond omega sighed in defeat, because he knew that he wouldn’t succeed in convincing Satori. They got changed quickly and parted ways at the school gate.  
What they didn’t know at that time, was that tomorrow would not exactly go as planned.

 

 

“Are you really sure that you want to go to school today, Satori?”

The omega put on his shoes and slid into the blazer of his school uniform, ignoring the concerned glint in his mother’s blue eyes.

“You do look pretty pale..”

Satori rolled his eyes and kissed her forehead as goodbye.

“That’s literally the normal color of my skin, mom. I’ll be fine! I’m coming home right away after the practice.”

She sighed and waved a last time, before her son opened the front door to step out.

“I took off for the week, so give me a call if you need me to fetch you.”

He showed her a thumbs up and jogged down the street, ignoring the light churn in his stomach.

 

“And lastly, I’m honored to announce that our first year, Goshiki Tsutomu will participate as a regular in the upcoming spring tournament.”

The gym erupted in applause, while the young raven froze in his place. After the first few people congratulated him on his remarkable achievement, the spiker exclaimed with a loud “WHAT?!”  
The whole volleyball team started laughing and tears streamed down the first years face as he thanked every coach and every senpai for this honor.

“I WILL NOT DISAPPOINT YOU ALL!”

He bowed his head impossibly deep as he shouted his promise to the team.  
Even Ushijima’s normally stern expression softened, when he saw his kouhai freaking out about the announcement. Satori wasn’t disappointed. He didn’t regret attending the practice. Yet.  
They walked back to the locker room, leisurely discussing some strategies for the spring tournament, now that Goshiki would stand on the court with them. Semi jogged to Satori’s side, eyeing him from head to toe.

“How are you feeling?”

The crimson lightly flicked the blond’s forehead, earning himself an irritated glare.

“I feel good. Could you stop worrying about me for a second and concentrate on Gatachin? You two have a date today, don’t you?”

Satori successfully directed Semi’s thoughts to their alpha libero and the blond omega gave a shy smile.

“Yeah.. I introduced him to my parents last month and today I’ll meet his. Is it weird that I’m nervous? What if they don’t like me? Hayato is handsome after all and he gets confessions from other betas and omegas, despite them knowing that he’s courting me..”

 _Adorable_ was the first word coming to the middle blocker's mind after seeing Semi fiddling with his insecurities. He put one of his hands on the other’s shoulder in a reassuring manner,

“Semisemi, they’ll love you. After you and Gatachin started your courtship, that brick started smiling a lot more and brightened up. You make him happy, trust me with that. And don’t you dare worry about other omegas, he chose you after all.”

Semi’s let out a sigh of relief and his lips quirked up in a warm smile.

“You think he brightened up after meeting me?”

Satori made an exaggerating gesture with his arms and replied,

“Haven’t you noticed? He’s all sunshine and bubbles around you! I saw him jump after a drowning puppy last week and that one time last winter, I caught him knitting a beanie for a homeless cat in the clubroom! I swear that it even had two holes for the ears!”

Semi erupted in laughter, earning a raised eyebrow from Ushijima, Oohira and even Yamagata, walking a few meters in front of them.

“Ahahaha, oh my god, stop it with your sarcasm, Satori! I can’t breathe!”

The crimson wore a proud grin and puffed out his chest,

“I wouldn’t be Tendou Satori without my sarcasm!”

After wiping some small tears of laughter from his eyes, Semi opened the door to the locker room, the two omegas being the last to enter.  
The others were almost done changing, since it was rather late after their extra meeting. Satori walked to the basins in the shower room and splashed water to his sweaty face. The churning in his stomach hadn’t subsided since this morning, indicating that his heat was about to begin soon. By the time he went back to the locker room, Semi already stood in the doorframe, Yamagata behind him. The blond omega approached Satori and leaned down to murmur in his ear,

“Go straight home and call me if something happens, are we clear?”

The crimson rolled his eyes and showed a peace sign to the other.

“Yes, mom. Now go and enjoy the evening with your husband.”

Satori pointed to Yamagata, who was waiting for Semi patiently. They waved in goodbye and disappeared out of the door, the omega sending a last ‘Don’t do anything stupid’-glare to the middle blocker.  
By the time Satori had changed out of his practice clothes many others had left the club room already. He walked to the other end of the room, where he could deposit his used towel in the laundry basket. Ushijima’s bag and jacket were still there, so he must have been in the shower room to wash his face.  
The crimson stuffed a water bottle from the locker into his bag and changed his shoes, about ready to leave. The missing alpha came from the shower room with a towel around his shoulders and droplets of water glistening in his short, olive-brown bangs.  
_How can someone look that gorgeous after doing two hours of exercises?_ _No! Stop thinking that!_ _Shit, Satori, get a hold of yourself!_  
The alpha looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

“You were still here?”

The omega gave a wave and walked backwards, into the direction of the door.

“Yeah, but I’ll be going now. Good work today too, Wakatoshi-kun!”

Ushijima nodded and Satori pushed down the handle of the door, in an attempt to leave. The problem was: It wouldn’t open.  
The blocker tried again, with more force this time, but nothing.  
_It’s  been locked.  
_ Panic started to rise in Satori. He rattled the handle, but it wouldn’t move an inch, much less open.

“What’s wrong, Tendou?”

The answer was a whisper.

“I beg your pardon?”

“I said.. it’s _locked_.”

Ushijima walked up from behind him and leaned down to check if it was really locked. Satori sensed the broad shoulder of an alpha behind him with every fibre of his body and started shivering. An all too familiar heat appeared in his lower regions. _Fuck._  
Before the ace could touch the handle, he halted almost instantly.

“..Tendou? It could be my imagination but your scent seems..off?”

Satori felt his face flush. He crossed the trembling arms over his chest, hugging himself.

“My phone.. Wakatoshi, get my phone!”

At the strange tone in the crimson’s voice, Ushijima walked over to his bag and fished out the device.

“C-Call.. my mom.. hah..”

Satori had slid down to the floor, clutching his knees to his chest, not daring to make eye contact with his teammate. The latter did as he was told, unlocking the device and searching the familiar name in the contact list. He heard Ushijima ask him something, but his mind felt like jelly and he couldn’t hear it properly with the blood boiling in his ears.  
_I need to.. get.. away.._

 

 

“Tendou, if you don’t feel well, I should just call an ambula-“

Wakatoshi was about to finish the sentence, but at that moment, the curled up figure on the floor let out a strangled muffle of pain and the alpha let the phone slip from his hands. He caught the smell of something irresistible. Cinnamon, with a hint of chocolate. Sweet and yet spicy. It was simply.. _Delicious._ His whole body suddenly felt like it had been lit on fire. The source his fever was just a few meters away, lying on the floor, panting. His fingers twitched in a foreign anticipation. The ace’s pupils dilated involuntarily and a growl rumbled in the depth his throat. Subconsciously, the alpha already pictured the countless positions he could take the writhing omega in front of him in. On the bench. Against the lockers. In the shower. How the omega would beg to be satisfied. How the alpha would gladly fulfill his every wish. The tanned teen licked his lips, ignoring the canines, which had started to elongate, grazing his tongue. Wakatoshi was about ready to jump the helpless figure, but the mess of red locks on the floor managed to turn his head to look at his teammate with glassy eyes and a flushed face.

“Haah..hah.. Waka..toshi..?”

Realization kicked in. He knew this person. This was his friend. It was Tendou. Wakatoshi shook his head violently and brought a hand up to his face, covering mouth and nose. Turning away from the omega, he picked up the phone from the floor and dialed the number he had selected before with shaking fingers.

_“… … Satori?”_

The alpha almost tripped over his words, head still clouded with inappropriate thoughts and ears still hearing things, he most likely shouldn’t hear.

“This is Ushijima. Practice.. Locked.. Tendou, he..”

He couldn’t form a coherent thought. Why couldn’t his instincts let him talk normally?

_“Wait wait wait, Ushijima-kun! Take a deep breath and tell me, what happened to Satori?”_

With thrumming ears and cold sweat forming on his forehead, the teen managed to collect some reasonable phrases.

“Hanako-san, Tendou and I got locked inside the locker room by accident. I believe he just went in.. heat. What.. am I supposed to do?”

He waited for a response patiently, his self-restraint crumbling little by little, hearing the pants and low moans Satori was giving off by now. Thankfully, the alpha had turned around and didn’t experience any visual stimulation.

_“First of all, thank you for calling me, Ushijima-kun. I’m already on my way to the car. I’ll grab the keys from the janitor, since he should still be in the school. Can you hold out for 15 minutes?”_

The alpha let out a strangled breath between the fingers covering his mouth.

“I.. don’t think so.”

He heard doors shutting on the other end of the line.

_“Listen to me, Ushijima-kun. I’ll be there in just 15 minutes. I can’t talk to you while driving, so you’ll be on your own for a little while. Satori is not in his right mind at the moment and you aren’t either, so if possible, try to get him somewhere he can’t reach you from. I know that it is a lot to ask from you, but I trust you and Satori does too. Take care of my son, Ushijima-kun.”_

The call ended and Wakatoshi felt like punching himself. He had never imagined himself getting affected by someone’s scent, to the extent of losing his composure, but the inappropriate images manifesting in his mind were proof for the alpha instincts taking over his free will. He felt like an animal.   
A particular, loud whine snapped him out of his thoughts. With every ounce of self-restraint he had left, Wakatoshi closed his eyes, turned on his heels and stalked to the direction of where he suspected Satori to be. After feeling something clutching his legs, he crouched down and picked up the whining omega. Said teen clung to him like a koala, starting to moan louder, now that the object of his desire was carrying him somewhere unknown.  
Eyes still shut tightly and holding his breath, the alpha ignored the needy whimpers (which were way too close to his ear) and worked his way forward to the shower room.  
He couldn’t bite back the “Fuck” slipping from his mouth, as he accidently walked against the lockers once, pressing the omega’s body even closer to his own and making the crimson gasp obscenely loud at the friction.  
Finally, he reached his destination. He kneeled down and tried peel the omega off him, which was not an easy task, given his current state. Satori clutched at the fabric of Ushijima’s jacket, ignoring the alpha’s gentle pushes. The spiker believed that at this point, his friend didn’t even recognize him anymore and simply wished for anyone to satisfy his needs. Oh, how he wanted to satisfy them..  
Just before Wakatoshi was about to use more force on making the omega let go of him, a breathless voice reached his ears.

“Haah.. You smell so good.. hah.. Wakatoshi..”

That did it. He rose to his feet, not caring if Satori was still clinging to him. He practically ripped off his jacket, threw it to the omega and stormed out of the room, closing the door behind him and fumbling in the crimson’s bag until he found the headphones. He mechanically stalked to the corner farthest from the shower room, slid down against the locker and started a random playlist at full volume.  
Wakatoshi’s body felt hot. His heart had never beaten this fast, not even at the most exhausting set during a match. The pulse thrummed in his ears and he might have lost it already if it weren’t for the headphones, which were blocking out the sounds coming from the nearby room. The alpha closed his eyes and brought the only piece of clothing that would calm his commencing rut to his face. He inhaled the scent through his nose, washing away the sweet, irresistible musk from before. After a few deep breaths, Wakatoshi’s senses started to clear again.  
After three songs from the playlist, the alpha saw the door handle of the room rattle, until it finally opened. Revealed was the familiar face of Satori’s mother with messy light-brown hair, wearing an expression of pure concern as she scanned the room. She caught sight of the ace, walked over without one word of greeting, crouched down next to him, and took him into an unexpected embrace. The alpha’s eyes widened, when he felt her soft hands running through his olive locks, whispering,

“Thank you, Ushijima-kun. I’ll never forget what you did for him.”

She loosened her tight hug to look him in the eye. Her blue orbs were glistening with unshed tears and the corners of her mouth had stretched in a grateful smile.  
He didn’t remember what happened afterwards. Wakatoshi knew that he left the club room, in order to let Hanako take care of her son. No memory of his way home, or how he had unlocked the front door to his empty house. His mother was visiting relatives, so he was alone at the moment. The alpha slumped down on his bed in pure exhaustion. His right hand was still holding on to something and he tiredly inspected the item. It was the cloth he had used to calm his rut. He had grabbed it, due to its soothing scent when he fished for the headphones earlier. It was.. one of Satori’s T-shirts.

 

One week had passed since the locker room incident and Satori felt like his life could as well end now. The only thing he could remember was that he collapsed and that he woke up in the nude five days later, clutching to a Shiratorizawa jacket that wasn’t his.  
His mother refused to tell him what else had happened, at least not until Satori had properly apologized to Ushijima for the inconveniences he caused him. He wasn’t ready for that yet. Semi, who was just as furious as his mother about the outcome, hadn’t gotten word from Ushijima ever since. The captain had excused himself from practice, stating that he didn’t feel well.  
The coaches, as well as their teammates were left in the dark about the details of the incident, only knowing that the two third years got locked up by accident.  
Satori was in his comfy attire again. Hair down, sweatpants and one of his favorite Naruto shirts. It was plain white and on the back it said “4th Hokage”, while the hem had a red flame design, just like Namikaze Minato’s cloak. He would always be Satori’s favorite character from the series.. along with Itachi of course.  
He was currently writing on his Jap literature essay, but his mother interrupted him with a knock on the doorframe.

“You should talk it over with him, Satori.”

The crimson stared down at the paper in front of him, refusing to meet her eyes.

“I can’t. He probably hates me. He finds me disgusting and took off from practice because of the stuff that happened. God, what if I begged, mom? I don’t even want to imagine what I did..”

The woman slammed the basket of laundry down in front of him. Startled by the sudden impact, the omega finally looked up to get greeted by her furious eyes.

“TENDOU SATORI! I’ve been patient up until now, but I certainly didn’t raise you to be such a wimp! You will go to the Ushijima residence right now, bring back the jacket he purposely lent you and apologize like a grown up! Am I clear?!”

He blinked at her, before lowering his gaze to the laundry in front of him, mumbling,

“You don’t know if it was on purpose.. I might have stripped it off him..”

“Could you repeat that, because I DO NOT SPEAK LOSER!”

Her son raised his hands in defeat and met her angry expression with an equally annoyed one.

“Fine, I’ll apologize.”

The older woman gave out a triumphant huff, before grabbing her laundry basket again. After she left the room, Satori laid his head back on his half-finished essay and sighed.  
Yes, he was scared. Scared of what Ushijima thought of him. After all, Satori believed that the alpha was seriously seeing someone at the moment, since they hadn’t talked about the omiai thing from months ago. After witnessing the crimson in his most vulnerable state, even the good-hearted Ushijima must be disgusted to the bone.  
There was nothing to lose anymore.  
Satori stuffed the (thoroughly) washed Shiratorizawa jacket into a bag, changed into a pair of casual jeans and put his phone in one of the pockets. Ushijima knew about his anime addiction, so he didn’t bother to put on a different T-shirt. He looked at his reflection in the mirror and decided that he wasn’t even in the mood to put up his hair. He felt miserable and didn’t care if others could tell from his appearance.  
Satori jogged down the stairs and put on his shoes, calling out,

“I’m off!”

A pleased hum from the kitchen came as a response.

“Take care! And tell Ushijima-kun, I said Hi!”

He stuffed his keys into the pocket and set off to the Ushijima residence. He’s been over before, but never really met anyone from the alpha’s family. He knew that his father worked overseas and that he had taught him volleyball as a child. His mother seemed to run the family business, an estate agency if Satori remembered correctly. They were well off and had a handful of residences across the country, from what Ushijima had revealed to him. The house he and his mother were currently living at was a twenty minute walk from the school, thirty from Satori’s house.  
The crimson watched the children sliding and building sand castles on the playground as he went by. Would Ushijima come here with his future wife someday to watch their children play? He’d be the type to take off from the national team’s practice to do just that. Satori gave a sad chuckle at the thought. He hoped that the alpha would become happy with someone someday and maybe he had found that certain one during the omiai in February. Probably a beauty, all soft skin and sophisticated smiles. A partner suitable for the alpha.  
He reached his destination shortly after and climbed the stairs to the front door. A small letter was attached to the door and the omega squint his eyes to read the familiar handwriting.

_No member of the Ushijima family is currently residing here.  
For urgent matters, find us at another residence._

An address, not very far with the train, was written beneath the two phrases and Satori would have burst out laughing at the ridiculous message if he didn’t know Ushijima.

“Pfft~. Don’t tell others that you’re not home, do you want to get robbed?”

The crimson took the paper from the door and briefly thought about just leaving the jacket here and writing a text message as an apology, but that would have been inappropriate, even for him. They needed to sort this out face to face, after all.  
He turned on his heels and skipped down the stairs, making his way to the train station. Thankfully, he had taken his wallet with him.

The train ride was mere ten minutes and the omega enjoyed to watch the landscape rush by at this speed. He got off the train and searched for the previously acquired address on his phone’s map. The crimson studied the expensive looking, mostly traditional estates and wondered just how wealthy Ushijima’s family must be.  
After a five minute walk through the streets, Satori finally reached the residence he was looking for. It was a huge, Japanese-styled estate with a wooden plate, showing the kanji for “Ushijima”, at the front door. The omega’s jaw dropped open, because he certainly wouldn’t have expected a mansion like _that._  
He walked to the front door and rang the doorbell, feeling absolutely out of place in his comfy attire. After hearing shuffling from inside, an elderly woman opened the door, eyeing Satori suspiciously,

“How may I help you, young man?”

The crimson couldn’t deal with formalities, but he felt like he at least had to try in this case. He bowed his head, the red locks falling to his face loosely,

“My name is Tendou Satori. I attend Shiratorizawa Academy and I’m a teammate of Ushijima Wakatoshi. I believe, this is where he lives at the moment, so I was wondering if he was.. available?”

The woman narrowed her eyes on him, but didn’t turn him down immediately. Instead, she reacted quite calm at his request.

“I see. My grandson is running an errand for me at the moment, Tendou-kun. But you can wait for him inside if you want to.”

Satori raised his head and nodded gratefully, stepping inside to take his shoes off in the entranceway. He had never been in such a delicate house before. Everything was made of dark wood and the decorations on the walls looked valuable. It gave him a feeling of nostalgia, although he didn’t exactly understand why. The woman led him to the living room, which was connected to the garden.

“Please take a seat, Tendou-kun. I’ll make some tea.”

Satori didn’t find the right words to express his gratitude, so he gave a polite bow instead. He kneeled down on one of the cushions at the low table and looked around. The garden outside was very well-kept and the breeze ruffling through his hair calmed his fast heartbeat down a little. There wasn’t much furniture in the room, just the table in the middle, an old TV in one corner and a drawer with picture frames on top. Satori really wanted to look at them, but decided it would feel wrong without any consent of the family.  
The door slid open again and Ushijima’s grandmother kneeled down at the opposite side of the table, placing a cup of green tea in front of the crimson. He suddenly realized that he was still wearing his Naruto T-shirt and felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him. Satori remembered he hadn’t apologized for the sudden visit yet and started stuttering nervously,

“I- I apologize for my sudden visit, Ushijima..-san?”

He peeked at her face and froze when the elderly woman started laughing, showing the prominent wrinkles beside her aging eyes.

“Please, don’t be so formal, Tendou-kun! You might have guessed by now, but I’m Wakatoshi’s grandmother, Ushijima Chiyo. You can call me Chiyo-san.”

She offered a warm smile and Satori let out a breath, he didn’t know he was holding. He smiled back at her and felt like the tension from before had subsided. She was dressed in a yukata and her grey hair was tied in a bun, making her look very sophisticated. Her dark eyes on the other hand, were shining with the youth of a teenager and Satori knew that she could very well be cheeky and sly, despite the monotonous appearing family business.

“Now that I take a closer look, you’re the genius guess blocker from my grandson’s team right? I didn’t recognize you with your hair down and the casual attire.”

The crimson nodded in affirmation and took a sip from his tea. Chiyo leaned forward and smirked mischievously.

“Tell me, Tendou-kun, how does Wakatoshi behave in school? Is he just as serious as he is here?”

The crimson snorted at the question and replied with a sincere grin,

“That would be an understatement! He’s so polite that he made one of our teachers apologize to him, because Wakatoshi-kun corrected one of his questions during a maths pop quiz! And that one time, Goshiki, our first year regular, asked him how he did those ‘supernatural’ spikes and Wakatoshi-kun seriously explained to him, how it was just his strength and not the work of super powers. His social awkwardness is so hilari-“

Satori stilled in his movements. What had he said just now? Wouldn’t Chiyo-san take this the wrong way? The crimson met her eyes in fear, but to his surprise, she was chuckling along.

“That sounds so like Wakatoshi! Whenever I tell him to loosen up, he stiffens even more! I wonder when he’ll meet someone who’s able to smooth the creases between his eyes..”

She turned her gaze to the garden, as if remembering an event of the past. The omega raised an eyebrow and dared to ask one of the questions he was threatened to learn the answer of.

“I’m sorry for asking such a personal question, but didn’t Wakatoshi attend an omiai in February? I believed he was still meeting her?”

The woman turned to him and started staring at his features in thought. Something incomprehensible seemed to suddenly make sense to her, because her dark brown eyes widened in realization and a slender hand covered her mouth.

“By any chance, Tendou-kun.. Have you wished Wakatoshi luck on the omiai?”

The crimson tilted his head to the side questioningly, before nodding in confirmation.

“I did, but what has that to do with-“

Before he could end the sentence, the door to the living room slid open and a familiar, hard face appeared in Satori’s vision. The newcomer blinked in surprise.

“Tendou? What are you doing here?”

 _Wakatoshi-kun.._  
Satori’s heartbeat picked up instantly and he looked down at the hands in his lap, refusing to meet the alpha’s eyes just yet.

“I wanted to talk.”

A few moments of silence passed, before Chiyo-san rose from her spot to leave the room.

“Thank you for buying the ingredients, Wakatoshi. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need something.”

She took the bag out of Ushijima’s hand and shut the door behind her, leaving the boys alone. Satori felt like the silence was suffocating him. In the corner of his eye, he saw the alpha move to the spot across from Satori, where his grandmother had sat previously.

“What did you want to talk about?”

Ushijima sat down cross-legged and looked at the blocker expectantly. The crimson was thankful that the ace hadn’t yet verbally expressed his disgust. Satori raised his head and met Ushijima’s unreadable gaze.

“I wanted to properly apologize. I shouldn’t have attended practice, as I was aware that my condition would worsen. I didn’t mean to make you experience something gross like that. Please forgive my unreasonable behavior.”

Ushijima blinked once. Twice. Satori patiently waited for a response, ignoring the drumming pulse in his ears. The alpha finally opened his mouth to speak.

“Do you remember anything from that time?”

The crimson flushed. He lowered his head again, hiding the blush on his face beneath his bangs.

“I remember that someone locked us in by accident and that I collapsed on the floor. After that, nothing..”

Ushijima stayed silent and Satori took a deep breath to calm his nerves, before continuing,

“Whatever happened in the locker room.. Please forget it. I’d like to never bring it up again.”

“I cannot do that.”

The omega’s head snapped up in shock. Had he heard correctly? Could Ushijima not pretend that it never happened? Would their friendship shatter because of his own carelessness? Satori felt a lump in his throat and he squeezed the material of his jeans, before standing up on shaky legs.

“I..understand. Your jacket is in the bag here. Give Chiyo-san my thanks for the tea. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

The omega approached the door, but a grip on his wrist made him stop in his tracks. His body was shaking. Ready to cry, Satori tried to free his hand from Ushijima’s death grip.

“Tendou, listen I-“

The crimson pulled with more force and by now, he couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

“IT’S OKAY, Wakatoshi-kun! I know that it must have been gross to see me like that and that you’d rather experience your girlfriend in heat, but-“

“Oi Tendou, what are you ta-“

“BUT I JUST THOUGHT, ‘Maybe we can continue to stay friends and pretend like it never happened’, was that really too much to ask?!”

With a sudden yank of Ushijima’s arm, Satori landed on his knees. His face was wet from the tears and he wanted to protest, but a firm shoulder blocked his vision. The alpha was.. embracing him? A surprised hiccup escaped the omega’s lips and for some reason, he couldn’t muster the energy to shove the brunet away.  
They were just sitting there, Satori choking on his breaths quietly, with a sniffle here and there, while Ushijima pressed their bodies together like it was the most intimate thing in the world.

“Have you calmed down?”

The alpha’s deep voice vibrated between them and Satori managed to give a nod in response. The alpha loosened his grip and separated from the omega slowly, still letting his hands rest on the crimson’s shoulders. Satori knew that he looked pathetic, with a running nose and puffy eyes, but nevertheless he met Ushijima’s olive-colored orbs, which were now a little too close for comfort. The ace rubbed at the omega’s tear-stained cheeks with one of his sleeves and asked,

“First of all, what girlfriend are you talking about?”

Satori swatted the hand pampering him away, not wanting to look like a child and furrowed his eyebrows in irritation.

“Didn’t you agree to an omiai in February? I thought you were still seeing her, since you never mentioned anything to me or the other third years about the topic.”

Realization dawned on Ushijima’s features and he let out a long sigh.

“I met her, yes. It was an arranged meeting by our grandmothers and I only agreed on the condition that they would let me concentrate on my career if I met her once. But due to some.. _unexpected developments_ , I declined the lunch arrangement and apologized to her for the inconvenient turn of events.”

Satori blinked.

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

Ushijima tilted his head at the question.

“None of you have asked me about it. I didn’t feel it was necessary to bring up.”

The omega narrowed his eyes in irritation and by now, his sniffles had completely died down and the tears had stopped forming in his eyes.

“What the hell, Wakatoshi-kun? ‘ _not necessary_ ’? How is it not necessary? You could have met your destined someone, that’s a big deal!”

The alpha’s hands stiffened on Satori’s shoulders and the olive gaze darted to somewhere on the tatami mats, avoiding a certain crimson one.

“She wasn’t the one.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“She..”, Ushijima visibly hesitated, squinting his eyes as if wanting to read the right words from the floor in front of him, “didn’t smell right.”

Satori’s jaw dropped.  
How could this be the reason? Sure, many alphas and omegas felt attracted or grossed out by certain scents, but to hear something so innocent and naïve from such a big ass man was laughable. The crimson snorted.

“Pfft~! I didn’t take you for the ‘I choose my partner by scent’-type of guy.”

Maybe the omega was imagining things, but he thought he saw Ushijima’s ears glow pinkish-red for a brief moment. Since the alpha was still looking at the tatami mats in front of him, probably analyzing if he should have chosen wiser words, Satori’s face relaxed and his expression shifted to a relieved smile. With a short inhale, he asked,

“So.. no girlfriend or fiancée?”

Ushijima’s palms left the crimson’s shoulders and settled them on his own, muscled thighs.

“No.”

Satori didn’t know if he was beaming, but the relief was most likely making him glow in some sort. They just kneeled there, across from each other and after an endless pause, Ushijima’s gaze found the omega’s once again. The normally blank, hard and serious olive eyes looked more open and more vulnerable than ever and maybe, just maybe, Satori gasped at the sight.

“About the other thing.. the incident in the locker room, I mean..,” the crimson stiffened, holding his breath at the mention, “it didn’t gross me out, Tendou.”

The omega opened his mouth in an attempt to speak, but before any words could follow, the door slid open again.

“Wakatoshi, I’m sorry to interrupt, but there is a- OH MY!”

Chiyo had entered the room with the houseline in her hand, but her dark eyes turned alarmed after taking in the sight in front of her. Realization kicked in and Satori immediately pulled the hem of his shirt to his own eyes, wiping away the wet streams of shed tears. What did this look like? Two boys kneeling in front of each other, pretty close at that, one of them fisting the fabric of his pants in his lap, the other crying. Great, Satori could never behave normally around Chiyo again.  
After wiping away any evidence of possible crying (as if she hadn’t seen it already), the omega got to his feet and waved a hand at his friend, who was still sitting on the floor with an unreadable expression.

“Thank you for your time, Wakatoshi-kun~. I hope to see you at practice tomorrow!”

 Satori was chirping the words happily and turned to the still shocked woman in the doorframe.

“And I’m grateful for the tea, Chiyo-san! Thank you for having me.”

The blocker put on his shoes and left the residence without another word. As he walked down the street, the embarrassment from before finally made his face heat up in a heavy flush.  
Wakatoshi had embraced him.  
Wakatoshi didn’t have a girlfriend.  
Wakatoshi had rejected to have lunch with her.  
Wakatoshi had embraced him.  
Wakatoshi hadn’t liked her smell.  
Wakatoshi had said that he wasn’t grossed out because of last week.  
Wakatoshi had embraced him.

 _What.._  
Satori stilled in his almost jog. His fingertips tingled when he thought about the firm chest, he had been pressed against. His heart skipped a beat when he thought about the soft tufts of olive-brown hair against his neck during the physical contact. His stomach flipped when he thought about the scent of grass and fresh soil from the alpha’s neck when his nose had been buried in it. His breath went faster after remembering the low voice rumbling in the broad chest, when he had spoken.  
_Oh my god..!_  
Satori’s fingers trembled as he dialed the number of the only person that could help him through his panic attack.

_“… … Yeah?”_

“I’m in love with him.”

_“I know.”_

“Help me!”

_“How? Just tell him?”_

“Semmiiiiiii~! He’s as dense as a brick, not interested in relationships, one of my closest friends, wealthy as hell, a sports prodigy and the damn rising star of Japan’s national volleyball team! EXCUSE ME?!”

_“…”_

“Yeah, I figured!”

_“First of all, calm down. Let’s meet up somewhere, since we can’t talk about this on the phone. In one hour at the usual café, ok?”_

Satori nodded.

_“You nodded, right? See you there.”_

With that, Semi hung up and the crimson was unbelievably happy to have someone like him in his life. Never had anyone been better at reading him. The omega inhaled deeply to calm his nerves and the racing heartbeat. He pocketed his phone and walked to the station again. This would definitely get complicated.

 

 

“Was Tendou-kun alright?”

His grandmother looked to the doorway, where the redhead had disappeared rather hurriedly a few moments before. The alpha was still kneeling in the living room with a crease between his eyebrows.

“I am not entirely sure”, came the response from the boy “, but I guess it could have ended worse.”

The woman nodded approvingly and approached her grandson extending the landline phone to him with a pleased smile.

“For you.”  
_  
_ Wakatoshi looked at the device questioningly, but accepted it from her nonetheless. Chiyo left the room again and the alpha raised the phone to his ear.

“Ushijima Wakatoshi speaking.”

_“Wakatoshi!”_

The confused expression from before shifted to a softer one, a small exhale coming from his lips at the realization.

“Father?”

_“Yep! Haven’t heard from you in a while, how are you?”_

“I am fine, thank you. How is Poland?”

_“It’s lovely! Well, the rain is certainly a hassle, but the architecture is absolutely breathtaking! I went for a run the other day and you won’t believe me, but I met Piotr Nowakowski!”_

Wakatoshi’s eyes widened at the message.

“Piotr Nowakowski? The middle blocker of the Polish national team? World champion from 2014 and Olympics fifth from 2016?

_“Exactly! I told him that you’d most likely participate in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and he can’t wait to meet you on the court. He even asked your name so that he would remember!”_

The ace inhaled at the thought of facing such a strong opponent in just a few years.

_“So, how is everything going for you? Anything new?”_

Wakatoshi paused. He glanced sideways, at the bag with his jacket, which his friend had left behind.

“I attended an omiai in February.”

His father choked on his breath at the other side of the line.

_“You. WHAT? ..Why haven’t I heard anything about this?”_

The alpha guiltily rubbed at his neck and took a sip from the tea on the table, before speaking.

“I apologize for not telling you right away, but it wasn’t really bothering me until now. I actually refused to meet her for lunch back then.”

His father apparently had composed himself again and huffed out an almost impatient breath.

_“Well, that’s good, since you shouldn’t rush things like that. You’re way too young for marriage anyway.. But why did you refuse, if I may ask?”_

Silence.

_“Wakatoshi? Are you still there?”_

“I don’t know.”

_“Huh?”_

“I don’t know why I didn’t at least have lunch with her. I am.. kind of confused right now.”

_“And why is that?”_

Another glance to the bag next to the table.

“When will you be back in Japan?”

_“Uhm.. Two months, I guess.. But Waka-“_

“It is fine”, the ace interrupted. His lips were pressed into a thin line and he managed to exhale a breath before continuing, “We can talk about this in person, when you are here again.”

_“Are you sure? It seems to really bother you..”_

Wakatoshi leaned his head against the palm of his hand and closed his eyes shut, as if trying to banish some unwanted thoughts.   
  
“Yes. Thank you for your call, father. Stay safe.”

A hesitant pause from the other side.

_“..yeah. You too. I’m looking forward to seeing you, after such a long time! I’d like to hug my son tightly after two and a half years.”_

“Yeah, that would be nice. See you soon.”

After a confirming hum from his father, Wakatoshi hung up and stared at the device for a few moments in silence. _‘Hug my son tightly..’_  
He recalled the words in his head and noticed the lightly damp area on his shoulder, where his omega friend had shed tears just a few minutes before.  
_‘Hug tightly..’_  
Why did Wakatoshi feel as if he needed to embrace someone again? And why was that someone wearing a white Naruto shirt and why were his bangs red and framing his face like a piece of art and why was he calling him ‘Miracle Boy’ in his thoughts?  
The alpha’s back hit the ground, as he let his body give in to gravity and  groan resounded in the room. It was a frustrated groan. A groan of someone, who had no idea of what was wrong with him.  
This would definitely get complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Geez, this really was fucking long, wasn't it?  
> I needed all of this in one chapter, or else I would not have been satisfied!  
> Since this was almost the length of two chapters and Uni is going to start in two weeks again, I won't have the opportunity to update very soon, but I'll try my best to write as much as I can in my breaks and if you want to stay updated on the progress, follow me on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/0rdinaryfangirl).
> 
> I'm always happy over a kudo and/or a comment as feedback<3


	6. Anxiety

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here come dat Ordinary_Fangirl with Chapter 6^^  
> I've been super busy for the past few days, since I had my last exam yesterday, but I passed and now I'm free again (at least for the next 8 days, before the semester starts again.. yay.)  
> Still! I managed to do a lot of things for my fics and worked my ass off while brainstorming more of the plot, so props to me I'd say;)  
> This chapter is completely in Satori's POV, except for that small part in the end, so we'll be getting more Ushiwaka thoughts in the next chapter! Please enjoy the read and see you at the bottom notes<3

 

“Semiiiii~!”

Satori almost yanked the door from its hinges as he burst into the familiar café. The other omega looked up at the noise and immediately shushed him with a death glare, ignoring the other guests’ cocked eyebrows.

“Satori, calm down! We’re in public after all!”

The crimson fell to the seat, opposite of the pinch server and rested his head on his forearms with a pout. A waitress arrived and took note of their orders, which were chocolate milk for Satori and a cappuccino for Semi.

“You look terrible.”

The blond omega crossed his arms over his chest and studied Satori with a disapproving look. Yes, he was still dressed in his baggy Naruto shirt and the washed out jeans. His hair wasn’t styled upwards and there were shadows under his eyes, resulting from a lack of sleep. After a full blown heat and three days of worrying that an important friend might despise you, it’s not exactly odd to sleep worse than usual. The middle blocker rolled his red irises and returned the very same look, because Semi wasn’t exactly famous for his good choices in clothing either. Today’s ensemble consisted of a yellow T-shirt, paired with green Bermuda shorts, sandals and.. socks.

“Likewise, but Gatachin loves you anyway, so props to you.”

Semi scrunched his nose in annoyance and took a sip from the coffee, which was placed in front of him just in that moment. Satori flicked a red strand from his eyes and mimicked the motion, enjoying the familiar sweetness of chocolate on his tongue. The pinch server placed the cup on the table and crossed his legs, getting right to the point.

“I’m curious. How did you escape your state of denial? Has Ushijima finally jumped you?”

The other omega almost choked on his drink and the crimson eyes went wide at the blunt question. Semi had never been the one to sugar-coat things or beat around the bush when interested in a topic. After clumsily placing the glass on the wooden surface of the table, Satori leaned forward, lowering his voice so that no one could eavesdrop on their conversation.

“Ok, listen. My mom forced me to visit Wakatoshi-kun, to apologize for last week’s _inconveniences_. When he said that he couldn’t just pretend that it never happened, I freaked out because of his girlfriend and over the fact that apparently we couldn’t be friends anymore. But there was no girlfriend in the first place, but I didn’t know that, so I lost my cool and started crying and his grandma saw me crying and he tried to calm me down with a hug and he smelled like earth and family and I went home immediately after that.”

Semi’s mouth gaped like a fish’s, after the incoherent babble and wild gesticulation came to an end and he shook his head in confusion.

“Ok, too much information in too few seconds. You cried?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I thought he had a girlfriend.”

“Does he have one?”

“No.”

“And he wanted to calm you down with a hug?”

“He did, yes.”

“ _Earth and family_?”

“His scent.”

“What’s with the grandma, though?”

“She’s cool.”

After the quick exchange of information, Semi leaned back in his seat and chewed on his bottom lip in thought.

“If I’ve understood you correctly, Ushijima embraced you on his own accord to stop you from crying? That’s pretty.. nice.”

Satori buried his quickly reddening face in his palms at the memory and let out an almost inaudible groan.

“Semi, what should I do..? I-I was having a minor heart attack on my way here!”

The other omega’s eyebrows twitched in concern and he let his walnut-colored eyes wander over the crimson, just to rule out any possible injuries. Satori smiled at the almost motherly worry and patiently waited for advice. Semi took another sip of his drink and started matter-of-factly.

“You have finally verbalized your feelings for him and that’s a huge progress in my opinion. Confessing would be the next step.”

Another whine escaped the flustered crimson and he sunk in even more on himself, bringing his hands to his face and hiding behind them.

“Semi, I told you that that’s easier said than done. He’s literally the densest person I know and even if I gather the courage to confess and he accepts, which is pretty much impossible, what then? I can’t imagine us doing couply things! Go on dates? Hold hands? That’s so cringey!”

The blond pinch server nodded along and eventually sighed in the end.

“I know what you mean, but you’re only going to continue walking around in circles with that attitude. Maybe it would be best to tell him your feelings and see what happens. I could have never imagined me and Hayato together either, but well..”

Satori shrugged his shoulders and turned his gaze to the window, watching some children on the playground next to the café. He murmured into his glass.

“You guys are the epitome of a perfect couple.”

“We’re not perfect, we argue too. It’s pretty serious sometimes.”

 _Serious, he says._  
Sudden, unwanted fury bubbled up in his throat at the comment and the omega in the otaku get up snapped his head to glare at Semi, nearly breaking the glass in his hand, due to the tight clench, making his knuckles turn white.

“Don’t you dare complain, Semi! Gatachin and you have a functioning relationship, the only one I’ve ever experienced. I wasn’t blessed with parents, who’re still all over each other after twenty years of marriage. Quite the contrary actually!”

The blond stilled at the words and looked to his lap in shock.

“I’m.. I’m sorry, Satori. That was insensitive. I didn’t have the intention to remind you of the past..”

The other people in the café didn’t pay the argument between the two any attention and continued their own conversations in apathy. The air was tense and Semi clutched the hem of his ridiculous Bermuda shorts tightly. After a minute of silence, Satori sighed and chugged the rest of his chocolate milk.

“It’s okay, I’m also sorry for bringing this up all of the sudden. 5 years are a long time, but because of _that_ incident, I’m screwed-up concerning relationships. It’s just that I can’t deal with my feelings for Wakatoshi-kun.. To be honest, I’m simply scared,” he bit down on his bottom lip and constricted his face to a worried scowl, “what if he hurts me like _he_ did?”

The memory of a specific scene, which he always tried to store away in the furthest corner of his head, replayed in front of his inner eye.  
Four people. Two adults and two teenagers. The children had tears in their eyes, the older girl tightly shielding her brother from any possible danger. They were sitting on the highest step of the stairs, listening to a loud argument in the kitchen. He didn’t want to remember the spoken words, but he could clearly recall the shattering of glass and furious roaring of a certain red-haired male. A female voice shouted back and suddenly, everything fell silent.  
Moisture gathered in his eyes and his heart sped up at the traumatic memory.  
_No._  
_I don’t want to have a relapse in public._  
 _Not in front of Semi._  
 _Not now._  
 _Get a hold of yourself, Satori!_  
Satori fisted the material of his jeans in his lap and squeezed his eyes shut, so that the hot moisture didn’t dare to spill down his cheeks.  
Semi’s worried, walnut-colored irises found his after he finally opened peeled his eyelids back again and the blond omega reached over the table to gently take hold of Satori’s shaking hand with his own. A small, reassuring smile played around his lips.

“Do you really take Wakatoshi for someone like that? Sure, he doesn’t always pick up empathic exchanges and misunderstands a lot, but do you really think he would raise a hand against you or discriminate you for who you are?”

The crimson reluctantly shook his head. Nevertheless, the conflicted mask of uncertainty stayed on his features and Semi retracted his hand ever so slowly.

“You’ll be alright. Let’s approach this matter very slowly, step by step. I won’t push you to do something, you don’t feel ready for. You’ll set the pace and I’ll support you whenever you let me.”

That’s right. The past was the past and didn’t necessarily need to repeat.  
Satori took a deep breath and relaxed in his posture again.  
The omegas stared at each other in a moment of quietness, as if sealing a promise. The red-haired otaku smiled reluctantly at his friend and nodded with a new glint of hope on his eyes. They switched to a more carefree topic and soon after, they paid and left the café with much softer expressions.  
About to part ways at a cross-road, Satori firmly grabbed Semi’s biceps and looked him in the eye.

“You’re the only one who knows about this, Semisemi. Don’t you dare to slip up in front of Gatachin, because If Reon tells Wakatoshi-kun.. Well, I don’t imagine what might happen..”

The pinch server freed his arm and scrunched his nose in irritation.

“Why would Hayato tell Reon?”

Satori blinked at the question in confusion and broke out into a fit of laughter. Semi had missed that sound.

“AHAHAHA! Good one, Semisemi! Gatachin has the discretion of a three-year-old! He would even spill his own account information, if I asked him nicely!”

Semi flushed at the very familiar characteristic and averted his eyes to a stray cat, tiptoeing on the nearby wall.

“That’s.. not true..”

It was a murmur and didn’t sound convincing in the least. The middle blocker let out another snicker and placed a hand on the blond’s shoulder.

“However, thanks for listening, Semi. I’m indebted to you.”

The other’s eyes softened, but his bottom lip was stuck out in a pout.

“Then don’t tease Hayato anymore.”

Satori skipped down his turning and answered with a delighted grin.

“Ain’t happening!”

Semi looked after him and put a hand on his hip, sighing. Ushijima would never dare to hurt Satori on purpose.

 

The weeks passed and summer was slowly but surely coming to an end. It was the last time they would spend their summer as third years and the underclassmen were starting to get sentimental by now. Well, one underclassman. A first year to be more precise.   
Goshiki Tsutomu was their only first year regular and highly gifted with talent. He never missed practice and always completed his training regimen with a remarkable amount of stamina. He was an alpha and upon hearing that, one would instantly characterize him with the terms: respectable, mature and calm.  
..that is if someone had major brain damage and/or was deaf-mute and blind.  
Goshiki Tsutomu was loud, overly-excited and clumsy. Many people would call him annoying due to his glowing ambition for everything and everyone, but he was also straight out adorable. He had an eternal amount of respect for his senpais and despite his lacking sense of tact and his noisiness, he was considered the innocent sunshine child of the team, who was loved and protected by everyone.  
By now, it was late September and Satori entered the gym to put his bottle of water and a towel on a bench for the upcoming practice, just until a familiar raven-head suddenly hugged him around the waist with a sniffle.

“TENDOU-SAN!”

The crimson looked down at the teary, midnight blue eyes and closed his arms around the younger alpha, rubbing circles between his shoulder blades. Goshiki’s breakdowns came more regularly as the time progressed and everyone suffered from the young wing spiker’s sensitiveness. Already suspecting the answer, Satori spoke up with a calm voice.

“What’s up, Tsutomu?”

The raven hiccupped and pressed his face closer to the other’s chest, before answering with a shaky voice.

“Kawanishi-san t-talked about how Coach Washijou would decide on a n-new captain soon.. I don’t want a new captain, I want Ushijima-senpai, you and the other senpais to stay here!”

From the corner of his eye, Satori saw Semi and Yamagata enter the gym and mouthed a silent “ _Your son is crying_ ” to his blond omega friend. The latter shrugged his shoulders and replied with a motion of his lips “ _He’s your son too_ ”. The crimson rolled his eyes and got rewarded with a smirk of Semi, who apathetically dragged his shorter boyfriend to the other side of the court, where he needn’t deal with the whining first year.  
The guess blocker was used to Goshiki’s clinginess, since he had started to feel a strange kind responsibility for the first year these past months. While Semi was considered the team mom by everyone, Satori felt like the guardian of this specific little raven. He would always encourage the younger alpha and give advice for his athletic insecurities. When the wing spiker had been announced to be the only first year regular for the spring tournament in August, Satori had felt like a proud mother, seeing her child receive the first price in some sort of swim tournament. He was used to being Goshiki’s pillow during the training camps and he was used to get affectionate touches and body heat when the other needed physical contact to calm himself. He was a first year, who had searched for a person he could trust and this person was apparently Satori.  
The crimson sighed and rubbed the other’s head with soft coos.

“Yes, unfortunately we’ll part ways in a few months, Tsutomu. But I swear that I’ll visit you and those cool bangs of yours whenever I can, okay?” The younger male looked up from the omega’s chest and blinked at him with a runny nose. _Adorable!_ “Promise me that you as the new ace will take Shiratorizawa to the nationals from now on.”

Goshiki took a step back and rubbed his face with a sleeve. He truly looked like such a child, but Satori’s heart warmed at the sight. With a passionate glint in his dark eyes, he faced the crimson and bowed his head until his torso was parallel to the gym floor. _Here it comes!  
_ The omega hid his smile beneath his hand and waited for the other’s response patiently.

“I PROMISE THAT I WILL CONTINUE TO TAKE SHIRATORIZAWA TO THE NATIONALS IN YOUR STEAD!”

Satori gave an appreciative nod and caught the sight of Coach Washijou, Coach Saitou and Ushijima entering the gym. He took a step towards them, as the practice would probably start in a few moments, but a sudden, firm grip on his wrist made him stop in his tracks. He turned around with a cocked eyebrow, to see Goshiki shifting on his feet and a healthy blush on his face. The first year looked up from the floor  and asked reluctantly,

“Uhm.. Tendou-san.. c-can we talk after practice? Alone if possible? There is something I-I’d like to ask you.”

He had never heard the raven talk with such a small voice. Not even when he consulted him about of his doubts of being the next ace after Ushijima’s glorious reign. The firm grip, paired with the serious expression, made Satori wonder just how important that talk must be for the other, but he suspected that it was possibly about his insecurities of being the future ace again, so he sported an usual grin and gave a thumbs up.

“Sure thing, Tsutomu!”

The wing spiker let out a breath and released his hand with a shy smile. They jogged to the crowd of teammates and started the practice with equally good moods, although their reasons were different.

 

Satori was tossing the sweaty, black T-shirt into his bag, when his classmate spoke up. It was the deep, soothing voice of Oohira, which echoed through the locker room.

“Whoever wants to grab an ice on the way home raises their hands! Today’s my treat!”

A few second years and two first years thanked the dark-tanned senpai for the offer, but declined for various reasons. Yamagata glanced at Semi and after getting a nod from his courtmate, both of them joined their alpha friend. Their underclassmen Kawanishi and Shirabu also accepted the invitation and after Satori joyfully agreed with a raised hand, Goshiki also made his way over to them, if not a little hesitant compared to his normal giddiness. The crimson glanced at Ushijima, who had been rather quiet during practice today. Well, even quieter than he usually was. But after a long pause and dragging his eyes over the group of people, he also gave his affirmation with a brief, “Thank you, Oohira.”  
They stuffed the rest of their belongings into the bags and stepped into the warm rays of the setting sun. Oohira turned around and sheepishly explained that there was a reason for his sudden generosity. Apparently, he had started dating his childhood friend and the respective girl wanted to personally get acquainted to the team, her boyfriend called his closest friends.  
They congratulated their alpha classmate and happily agreed to meet his _sweetheart_ , to which Oohira blushed a little.  
As they walked down the path to the school gate, Goshiki stayed behind and Satori grabbed the Semi’s sleeve, whispering with a low voice, “Tsutomu asked me to talk in private with him. We’ll catch up to you guys later.”  
The blond omega cocked his eyebrow questioningly and glanced at the raven first year, which jumped slightly and blushed to the tips of his ears at the suspicious look directed at him. The pinch server shrugged his shoulders and continued to walk beside Yamagata, but Satori didn’t miss the conflicted expression on his pretty features as he stalked off.  
The crimson watched the group turn right at the corner of the school gate and spun on his heels to find the first year alpha shifting on his feet _again._ The dark blue eyes were downcast and the poorly trimmed bangs did little to hide his red ears. Satori passed him and stopped at a nearby wall, where it was more private to talk. Goshiki followed after him with small steps and remained a few meters in front of the omega guess blocker. Hands on his hips, Satori got straight to the point.

“Tsutomu, you’re obvious.”

The raven froze in his tracks and raised his steaming head to look at his senpai, replying with a shaky voice,

“A-Am I..?”

 _Are you really that stupid?_  
The red-head let out a chuckle and gave an encouraging smile.

“You’re in love, right?”

A new rush of blood circulated through the first year’s face and Goshiki looked about ready to faint. The balled fists to his sides and the reluctant nod were the final pieces, Satori needed to finish the puzzle of why his protégé had been so overemotional and awkward for the past weeks. He nodded understandingly and crossed his lanky arms over the light blue shirt of his school uniform.

“I’m glad that you came to me with your problem, Tsutomu. Love can be very confusing for many people and I would never dare to consider myself an expert, but you should know that whoever the lucky guy or girl is, you need to be yourself and-“

“You.”

The crimson blinked and stared at the younger alpha in front of him with a frown. Goshiki snapped his head up and almost shouted at his senpai with flaming cheeks.

“I’M ASKING FOR PERMISSION TO COURT YOU, TENDOU-SAN!”

Satori’s mouth went dry.  
_What?_  
His red eyes widened comically and he let his arms fall to his sides.  
_WHAT?!  
_ After an endless pause of awkward silence and staring, the first year cleared his throat and repeated more composed this time.

“Tendou-san, I would like to get your permission on a courtship between us.”

Goshiki was standing straightly, chest puffed out in the slightest and his shoulders were pulled back. He wasn’t the over-excited, loud and insecure Tsutomu at the moment. No, he was an alpha, asking to court a potential mate.  
_Wait, no!  
_ Satori found it difficult to break eye contact with the piercing, dark blue stare directed at him. He gulped on his saliva and would be lying if he said that his palms didn’t feel damp from sudden nervosity.  
Never in his whole life had he expected _this_ , when getting asked by his precious kouhai to talk in private. Trying to clear potential misunderstandings, he licked his lips anxiously and asked with a quiet voice.

“With _us_ , you mean..?”

He gestured between them and the young alpha straightened even more, making himself appear even bigger if that was even possible. He replied with the same, steady voice from before.

“Yes, I am referring to a courtship between us. Between you and me.”

 _Fuck.  
_ What should he say to that? This was Goshiki, his son. He couldn’t agree to getting courted by his self-proclaimed son! And when had he developed such an intimidating confidence? Satori wrung his fingers and averted his eyes to the dusty ground with a red face.  
_Wait_ , when had it gotten red?  
The alpha took a step forward, making the crimson flinch back with a gasp. Their gazes met and Goshiki’s eyes widened in confusion.  
_Don’t let him know of your insecurity about alphas! Don’t. Don’t._  
The raven’s expression softened and thankfully, he looked more like sunshine child Tsutomu than carnivorous, mature Tsutomu again. Satori let his tense shoulders relax a little at the sight.

“You are a good senpai, Tendou-san. You’re always cheerful and know exactly the right words to encourage your teammates. You are a talented athlete and I hold a lot of respect towards you. You don’t have to give me your answer immediately, but please consider my proposal.”

The first year turned on his heels and made his way to the school gate, turning left, which was the opposite direction of where the other group went. The omega released an exhale and his knees buckled. He slid to the dusty ground and looked at the gravel beneath his sweaty palms.  
_Tsutomu asked to court me._  
_Which means that he holds a romantic interest for me._  
 _Which means that I have to answer his feelings._  
 _Which means that I have to reject him._  
 _Wait, do I have to reject him?_  
 _Yes! If I don’t reject him, he’s going to think that I like him back._  
 _But I like him.._  
 _But not in that sense! He’ll demand an explanation for my answer._  
 _I like Wakatoshi-kun._  
 _But I don’t know if Wakatoshi-kun likes me back. Tsutomu likes me already. I don’t have to feel insecure with him._  
 _But he’s not Wakatoshi-kun. I don’t know if I can develop feelings for someone different._  
 _I can’t._  
 _Ok, maybe._  
 _I could try to._  
 _Am I even able to be in a relationship? Do I even want to be courted?_  
 _I don’t trust people._  
 _What if either takes advantage of me?_  
 _What if they are like him?_  
 _No! The past must not necessarily repeat!_  
 _But what if it does?_  
 _What if it doesn’t?_  
 _Alphas are scary. Last year someone tried to take advantage of me._  
 _That was just bad luck._  
 _I don’t need one. I don’t want to like and neither do I want to be liked!_  
 _I want to be alone. Loneliness can’t hurt me._  
 _Leave me alone._  
 _Semi. Mom. Tsutomu. Wakatoshi-kun._  
 _Everyone should just leave me alone!_

While holding his inner conflict, Satori didn’t notice his body start to tremble and neither did he realize that the backs of his hands and the dusty ground beneath them were accentuated by large, wet spots of liquid.  
_When had it started to rain?_

“Tendou..?”

A deep, calm voice snapped him out of his daze and he raised his head to stare at yet another alpha. But this one didn’t have jet-black hair, ridiculous bangs, or blue eyes. This one was taller and wider, packed with muscle. He had short, olive-brown tufts of hair and stern eyes of corresponding color. His jaw wasn’t as soft as Goshiki’s and he was radiating composure and reliability, instead of cheerfulness and excitement.  
To his surprise, there weren’t any dark clouds and neither was there any sign of rain, but rather a beautiful and clear sky, letting orange fade to a purplish shade of red, while the sun set behind the main building of their school.  
The alpha took an attentive step into his direction. His green gaze focused on Satori’s face and his thick eyebrows were drawn low in concern.

“Tendou, should I call an ambulance? Are you hurt somewhere?”

The crimson on the ground mimicked the expression and asked in a voice that unintentionally came out as a whisper.

“Huh? Why?”

After a few more, slow steps towards the omega, Ushijima kneeled down in front of him and stared into his red eyes with an unreadable gaze. Despite the heat of the season, the ace slid out of the Shiratorizawa jacket above his light blue shirt of the uniform and placed the piece of cloth over Satori’s shoulders, meeting his eyes once more.

“I suspected you to be in pain, since you’re crying.”

_Fuck._

* * *

 

 

“Eita?”

They were currently walking behind Oohira, Kawanishi and Shirabu, who animatedly chatted about the alpha third year’s girlfriend. Well, Oohira did most of the talking of course, while the other two just nodded along as to not seem impolite. Ushijima didn’t join their conversation, but studied the gardens they passed on their way like some kind of botany freak.  
Yamagata squeezed his hand and the blond omega snapped his head up to look at his courtmate with a wide smile.

“Oh yes, yes. Totally!”

What had they been talking about again?  
The libero narrowed his eyes at him and he immediately knew that this had been the wrong answer to whatever question the other had asked. Yamagata was the type to not tolerate lies or half-assed excuses, so the omega inwardly already prepared for giving an explanation on his absent-mindedness.

“What’s bothering you?”

Semi sighed in defeat. After his best friend and him had parted at the school gate a few minutes ago, a bad feeling had settled in the pit of his stomach and he had a suspicion as to what the reason for that might be. He met the gaze of his boyfriend in concern.

“I’m worried about Satori..”

Yamagata smoothed his pecan-colored hair back with his unoccupied hand and smiled fondly at the blond omega. The short alpha’s smiles were rare and Semi always found himself blushing whenever he caught sight of one of them.

“Well, I guessed that already. I know what most of your faces mean after looking at it for a good year and that expression you have right there belongs to the _‘Worried about one of my self-proclaimed_ children’ section,” the libero looked him in the eyes and raised a finger to point at his face, “you do the nose-scrunch-thing when it’s about a third year and pair it with a nervous bottom-lip-nibble when it’s specifically about Tendou.”

Semi gaped at his courtmate with widened eyes and the shorter brunet smirked triumphantly at the reaction. They had arrived in front of a convenience store and Oohira was hugging a cute girl with a side ponytail, when the group came to a halt. Yamagata eyed him with an intense stare.

“So, what’s the matter with Tendou?”

Kawanishi and Shirabu shook hands with the girl and even Ushijima bowed his head in a formal greeting. Semi gestured Oohira that they could buy the ice already and he turned to look at the libero, when the others disappeared inside the store. With a deep inhale, the omega calmly said,

“I suspect that Goshiki wants to court Satori.”

The alpha in front of him choked on his breath at the confession and coughed violently, before stuttering a response.

“What makes you think that?”

Semi narrowed his eyes ( _Guide for Semi Eita’s expressions:_ First year) and licked his lips ( _Guide for Semi Eita’s expressions:_ Goshiki). He elaborated with a scowl on his pretty features.

“Since he joined our team, Goshiki has been all over Satori. Yes, he’s a good senpai and always knows what to say in order to cheer everyone up, so it’s not weird that the first years like him, but our sunshine child gazes after Satori, not only with admiration, but also with _that_ look.”

Semi did a grimace, as if not believing what he just said, but Yamagata knew exactly what the omega meant. Just one year ago, Oohira had pointed out that he himself shouldn’t ‘strip Semi with his eyes’. It had been embarrassing to admit, but all alphas knew what the intention of such a look was.  
Yamagata hadn’t noticed it on Goshiki, most likely always hidden behind smiles and sparkling eyes, but no one could argue with the fact that the first year was an alpha too and Semi with his _mother instincts_ had probably picked it up by accident.  
Still, the libero raised an eyebrow at the explanation.

“And what if that’s the case? Tendou is chill, he deserves a partner too and I don’t take him for the straight forward type of guy who goes around asking people out. Why not let Goshiki try to woo him?”

The pinch server scrunched his nose and nibbled on his bottom lip again, averting his eyes to the concrete beneath them.

“ _Eita?_ ”

The omega looked up with clenched teeth and saw the other’s cocked eyebrow and crossed arms. They stood there in silence and Semi _hated_ to lie, especially to his courtmate. With a dragged sigh, he rolled his eyes and lowered his voice to emphasize the point of it being a secret. Yamagata leaned in.

“You see.. Satori already has someone he likes..”

The libero’s eyes widened in shock and he raised his voice as he asked, “Who?”  
The blond shushed him with a glare and stayed quiet, scrunching his nose ( _Guide for Semi Eita’s expressions_ : Third year) and pulled his eyebrows low ( _Guide for Semi Eita’s expressions_ : Ushiji-)

“HOLY SHIT! USHI-”

The short alpha raised his voice even more at the realization.  
Everything happened in an instant.  
Oohira, his girlfriend, Kawanishi, Shirabu and Ushijima left the convenience store. His stupid _brickhead_ of a boyfriend shouted like having witnessed a murder just now and Semi clamped his hands over the other’s mouth, almost suffocating him in the hurried motion. The group stood there and stared at the scene in shock, until finally, Semi jumped back with a nervous laugh. Yamagata choked on his breath and glared at the blond omega, before letting his eyes fall on the captain of his team, who was holding two packages of ice. He quickly averted his eyes to the floor and drew imaginary circles with the tip of his shoe, not daring to create eye contact with the ace.  
Oohira quickly introduced his girlfriend to them both and Ushijima approached Semi with a frown.

“Has Tendou not caught up yet?”

The pinch server’s walnut-colored eyes widened slightly and he shook his head, wringing his fingers in thought. Before anyone could interrupt the exchange, the blond added with a steady voice and gaze fixed on the item in the alpha’s right hand,

“You should go and check on him.”

Ushijima stared at his downcast face and nodded slowly, before turning towards the direction of their school. He gave brief goodbyes to the group and jogged off without looking back.

Yamagata found his spot at Semi’s side again and whispered discretely,

“What about Ushijima? Does he hold any special feelings for Tendou?”

Semi grabbed his hand and shrugged, before following after Oohira and the others, smiling to himself.  
The item, Ushijima had been holding in his right hand was a spare package of ice. But the ace hadn’t bought yet another cheap popsicle. No. He had bought an ice cream cone, which was chocolate flavored.  
_Satori’s favorite._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What would this fic be without some drama and angst? Right, it would be a lot more boring, so please forgive me for making Satori suffer.. It'll get better(>.<')  
> Who would have guessed Goshiki to confess to Satori?? HM? HM?  
> Same, I didn't plan for this either in the beginning, but it'll spice things up, trust me;)  
> I am in need for some Ushiwaka, so I'll quickly wrap up the next few scenes after uploading this!  
> Easter is coming up and the whole fam is returning home, so I have absolutely no idea, when the next update will be, but if you want to stay informed on the progress, follow me on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/0rdinaryfangirl). I'll make sure to draw a lot this week, so that I can upload some artwork for this fic on Tumblr soon!  
> I'd be super happy for Kudos and comments<3
> 
> (I'll do an extra Easter post on Tumblr, so be sure to check it out in a few days!)


	7. The Language Of Flowers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *inserts old woman's voice* "It's been 84 years.."  
> Nah, I'm kidding, it's been, what, two weeks? Three? Ok, I have no idea, I'm sleep-deprived and cannot think anymore;)  
> Some of you might have read on my Tumblr that I already have the plotline for the next few chapters, but didn't have the motivation to type anything these past days.. Yet here I am with the 7th chapter^^ (I'll try to wrap up the next one soon, but there's a convention I'm working at this weekend, so it might take some time..)  
> Anyway, here it is and whoops, it's Thursday already^^'

After realization had dawned on Tendou’s features, the crimson quickly lowered his head and wiped the globs of salty liquid from his red eyes. He didn’t seem to be visibly hurt, so Wakatoshi calmly placed his bag on the ground and fished for a handkerchief. Upon hearing the omega’s previously erratic breathing calm down, the brunet offered the cloth to him with an outstretched hand. Looking up with wide eyes, Tendou accepted the handkerchief thankfully and got up on shaky legs. Wakatoshi mimicked the motion and they left the school grounds together in silence.  
The sun had almost completely vanished behind the trees, making the bright, orange color from before, blend with red, before fading into a warm purple. The cicadas were singing their last songs of the season, before the temperature would start to lower in the next few weeks. The gardens were especially beautiful at this time of the year, since many people had replaced their summer plants with autumn plants already.  
Colorful spots of zinnias in the brightest red and yellow accentuated the lawns. Many others were partly covered by a blanket of purple and white asters. Here and there were the long stems of sunflowers that had yet to bloom. Another garden had a pond, circled by a low wall of cobble. The chinks were covered by evergreen _Cymbalaria muralis._  
The gardens were all slightly different from one another, but they had one thing in common. Fencing-off the sidewalk, there were colorful shrubs of hydrangeas. It was one of the favorite and most symbolic flowers in Japan, although the majority of the people didn’t know its different meanings, which were-

“Ushijima.”

The alpha snapped out of his thoughts and suspected a classmate or a teacher on the streets, who had called out to him, but instead, he got greeted by the sight of Tendou, who was extending the Shiratorizawa jacket to him. His voice had been low and his red gaze was still downcast, refusing to meet eyes with the ace. Wakatoshi reached out and took the jacket back, just when he realized that he had forgotten about something.

“Ah.” The taller male reached into his bag and pulled out the package he had bought previously. The foil was wet from the condensation and the content of the item didn’t have its common, solid condition anymore, to which the alpha had to frown in irritation. He handed it to Tendou anyway.

“I assume that you didn’t get to have your ice yet. I apologize for its state, but maybe you can put it in the freezer and have it later.”

The crimson stared at the package and took it reluctantly, before blinking at it with an unreadable expression. Before Wakatoshi could tell him that he needn’t eat it, if he didn’t want to, the omega finally met his gaze again. His eyes looked tired and were covered by a veil of uncertainty. It was almost like they were closed off to the outside world, so that no one could see what was on his mind. Still, they were unmistakably Tendou’s eyes and the ace relaxed in his tense posture after the other accepted the ice from him.  
The middle blocker made to turn around, but stopped once more to look over his shoulder with a shaky smile that didn’t reach his eyes at all.

“Thank you, Ushijima.”

He walked up the path to the front door, unlocked it and stepped inside, without looking back again. If he did, he might have seen the dejected expression of his companion.  
_Ushijima.._  
Tendou had only called him that once before. It was when they talked for the first time, but never again after that, had he called him by his last name.  
Wakatoshi hated the sound for some reason.

 

* * *

 

 

_“..It is our honor, to invite you, Ushijima Wakatoshi to our national training grounds in Tokyo, after you’ve successfully graduated from Shiratorizawa Academy. You will get full accommodation in one of our numerous dorms and have an individual training regimen to develop your potential throughout the years. Your graduation will take place in Miyagi and you’ll be able to move to Tokyo one week after. If there should be any unanswered questions, reach us under the following telephone number:_

_+81*******_

_We’re looking forward to your arrival._

_  
__Masashi Nambu_  
(Coach of Men’s Japanese volleyball team)

_Yuichi Nakagaichi  
_ _(Future Coach of Men’s Japanese volleyball team)”_

Wakatoshi put the letter down and looked at his relatives.  
A few days ago, his grandmother had asked him to replace the plants in the garden with more seasonal flowers and when he left the house this morning and saw the “RYUJIN NIPPON” stamp in the top corner of the envelope he had received in the mail, he had slipped it in his bag to open later. Which was now.  
The three of them were kneeling at the table in the living room of the traditional mansion and his mother as well as his grandmother, were covering their mouths with glistening eyes. The voice from the phone on the table spoke up.

_“You did it, Wakatoshi! You- You've gotten accepted on the national team! I’m so.. *sniff* so proud of you..”_

The male voice broke at the end of the sentence and the younger woman on the opposite side of the table smiled at the device with tears of her own.

“Come on, Takashi. You’re not going to cry now, are you? Our son finally took the last hurdle towards reaching his dream, so don’t you dare.. cry now..”

The first tear spilled over her fair cheeks and both of his parents were hiccupping, one in Poland and the other right in front of him. Wakatoshi watched his mother shed tears of happiness and briefly thought about speaking up to reassure them that it wasn’t that big of an achievement, but actually.. it was.  
He couldn’t believe it himself. He had read the lines aloud just now, but they were just too difficult to process.  
He would be able to play for the Men’s Japanese national team as an adult. He would probably enter the Olympics in just a few years and he would be able to show his father how grateful he was to get inspired by him. He would reach his goals. He would make his long-time dream come true. Everything should be perfect. He should feel delighted, excited even.  
But something in his chest felt hollow. It was almost as if there was something missing. He was together with his family and even his father was present over the phone, but some factor just wasn’t right. Why couldn’t he come up with what was lacking this moment of happiness?  
They quickly exchanged a few more encouraging words, before his father eventually hung up to get a few more hours of sleep, in preparation of his next meeting. Wakatoshi’s grandmother was smiling at him with an appreciative expression, handkerchief still clasped tightly in her aging hand. Just as the ace wanted to get started on the garden, the work phone of his mother started ringing. She made an apologetic gesture with her hand and picked up in her business tone.

“Ushijima Kazue speaking.”

Wakatoshi took another sip of the tea in front of him and started scribbling the names of suitable plants for the garden on a piece of paper. He jutted down a few flowers and stopped when he wrote the kanji for _Hydrangeas._ Which colors should he buy? There were many possibilities and he could even combine different shrubs, but what would look best?

“Excuse me? You cannot just make any changes on the guest list! How am I supposed to find other trustworthy attendants on such short notice?”

His grandmother looked up from her book and eyed her daughter with a cocked eyebrow. Wakatoshi blinked at the sudden sharpness in his mother’s voice and placed the pencil on the paper. Ushijima Kazue was normally a very calm and collected woman, who saw things rationally and solved problems efficiently. She took over the family’s estate business after graduating from college and did a good job at giving and maintaining orders.  
Her hard features looked conflicted and she brought a hand to her face, pinching the bridge of her nose, nodding along to whatever the person on the other side of the line said.

“No. No, you will not bring more interns. They’ll just mess up and ruin the whole event. I will choose someone by myself,” She massaged her temples and suddenly snapped with a loud bark, “Yes, I _will_ and that someone will know how to behave, unlike your bad examples of what you call _employees_. Have a _good_ day and thank you for giving me more work on my free day!”

His mother hung up with a jerk of her thump and stuffed the phone into the pocket of her grey pantsuit. She combed her jet black hair back and sighed tiredly. Wakatoshi’s grandmother cupped the side of her exhausted face with a free hand and drew soothing circles to her cheekbone.

“What’s up, dear?”

The alpha male watched his mother sigh once more and she started explaining with an annoyed twitch of her left eyebrow.

“Remember the vernissage I’m funding? One of my _reliable_ coworkers has made a mistake with the guest list and now we are short on three people. It’s really important, since those three people take a major responsibility in this event. How am I supposed to find three people, who are reliable and don’t embarrass our company like those stupid interns, my coworker recommended? The vernissage is next week, so I need to quickly think of something!”

The woman grimaced at the thought and Wakatoshi continued to stare into space, before his grandmother lit up with a smile.

“What about us?” The elderly woman gestured between her grandson and her, just to see Kazue’s eyebrow cock in interest. “Wakatoshi is a nationally acknowledged athlete, which is also good for the publicity and I am a fellow board member! We’re free next weekend, right?”

With a glint of hope in her dark eyes, his mother turned to look at him.

“Is that true, Wakatoshi? I am well aware of the fact that you hate events like that, but it would just be this once, I promise! It’s really important for me..”

Wakatoshi furrowed his eyebrows in thought and nodded reluctantly, crossing his arms over his chest. The raven broke out into a smile and she immediately pulled her phone back out, typing a message animatedly. After a moment of rashness, she hesitantly raised her head once more.

“But I still need a third person.. Unfortunately, I believe that most of your acquaintances are already attending, mother. Wakatoshi, do you have someone in mind, who’d be interested in coming? A friend perhaps? He or she should be trustworthy and not cause trouble.”

Before the alpha could even begin to think of someone, his grandmother’s expression brightened and she spoke up with newfound energy.

“Wakatoshi, you should definitely ask Tendou-kun!”

Kazue blinked at her mother in shock and turned her head to look at her son with a quirked eyebrow.

“Tendou-kun? Is he a classmate of yours?”

Not caring about her grandson, who had already raised a finger in an attempt to answer, Chiyo smiled like the sun and elaborated happily.

“He’s the middle blocker from Wakatoshi’s team. I met him in August, when he came over unexpectedly. You’d love him, Kazue! He’s really polite and radiates so much positivity when he smiles. It’s like I’m looking at your father or Takashi in their younger years. Invite him, Wakatoshi! He’d make this whole event a lot more bearable for me.”

Trying to not feel offended by that last comment, the raven-haired woman sighed and turned to her son again, giving him a questioning look.

“Well, if he’s a friend of yours, could you ask him?”

Wakatoshi didn’t have enough time to think. He wanted to help his mother, sure. But something about asking the crimson to join him on that day, made him feel a mixture of restlessness and discomfort in the pit of his stomach. They hadn’t talked much since the quiet walk one week ago. They weren’t in the same class, so they naturally wouldn’t see each other during lessons and this past week, they hadn’t had lunch together either. Practice had been busy, since the spring tournament was just around the corner and if Wakatoshi didn’t know better, he’s say that Tendou was avoiding him. But he’s never been good with reading people, so he quickly dismissed the thought again.  
With a last glance to his grandmother’s shining eyes and his mother’s hopeful look, he pulled his phone from the pocket of his pants and got up from his sitting position on the tatami mats. He padded to the veranda and didn’t pay the meaningful glance of the elderly woman much attention.  
Wakatoshi searched for the familiar name in his contact list and pressed the icon, next to the number, bringing the device to his ear. The line was silent, until it finally connected.

_“.. .. Hello?”_

Wakatoshi’s heart involuntarily sped up at the groggy voice. He tightened his grip on the phone and stepped onto the lawn of the garden, feeling the softness of the warm grass beneath his bare feet. He cleared his throat and spoke up.

“Tendou? This is Ushijima.”

A snort from the other side of the line.

_“I’ve seen your name on the display, but thanks for reminding me, Wakatoshi-kun.”_

The alpha almost sighed in relief.  
_Wakatoshi-kun.._  
He had missed to hear it..  
_Wait._ Why should he bother over that?

_“Sooo, what’s the special occasion of you calling me? You don’t do that a lot and with ‘not a lot’, I mean literally never.”_

The brunet stared into the garden and was reminded of the hydrangeas again. Which color would look the best? There were different to choose from, but he would have to buy the plants tomorrow or on Monday if they weren’t sold out already. He squatted in front of the colorful cosmos flowers, his grandmother had planted yesterday. There was a balance between white, light pink and magenta. Wakatoshi skimmed the petals with a finger.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt your current activities, but I wanted to ask, whether or not you’re free next Saturday.”

A violent choke came as a response. The ace frowned concernedly.

“Tendou? Are you alright?”

After what seemed like a minute and when the crimson seemed to have caught his breath again, he stuttered a shaky reply.

_“Uhm.. I am.. But why do you ask?”_

Wakatoshi gazed at the flowers again. The combination of the colors was nice. Maybe he should buy white hydrangeas, or maybe even..

“Please feel free to decline, but my mother is apparently funding a vernissage and she is in need for a few more guests. My grandmother and I agreed to attend, but that would leave another spot open. Are you by any chance interested in coming along?”

The line was silent for a moment and the ace almost thought that the crimson had hung up, but after a good ten seconds, he heard soft rustling from the other side.

_“Are you inviting me to attend the vernissage your mother is funding?”_

“That is what I am doing, yes.”

_“And you want me to come along with you?”_

“Actually, my grandmother came up with the idea, but it would certainly be good to have a friend accompanying me. I have always tried to avoid these kinds of events, but in this case, I would do my mother this favor.”

Why did the word ‘ _friend’_ sound so strange in this conversation?  
The line was silent yet again. Wakatoshi could hear a pen clicking open.

_“When does it start? Where should I go? Is there a dress code? Sorry, I’ve never been somewhere this fancy.”_

The alpha blinked owlishly at the sudden flood of questions and leaned back, to rest his weight against the trunk of their old sakura tree. The warm rays of the sun felt comfortable on Wakatoshi’s bare arms and he would enjoy them for as long as possible, before the chills of late autumn came along and created goose-bumps on his skin.

“I will ask my mother for the details of the event later, but I presume that we will need formal wear. Concerning the place, I would propose that you come by our residence beforehand and we will most likely be picked up from here.”

The brunet heard faint scribbling on the other end of the line and what seemed to be the noises of explosions and screams coming from a TV.  
_He must be watching anime again._  
Wakatoshi didn’t notice himself smiling at the thought and let his eyes wander over the flowerbeds. Yes, after all there was only one possible color to be chosen for the hydrangeas.

“Does that mean that you will come along?”

The scribbling stopped and there was another long pause, before the other party cleared his throat loudly and answered with a slightly hysteric tint in his voice, if Wakatoshi had to place the tone.

 _“Uhm.. Yup! If I remember correctly, I do own a suit, but really.. don’t expect too much, Wakatoshi-kun. I’m not familiar with these kinds of events.”_ There was a brief interjection by a faint, female voice on Tendou’s part and the crimson continued hastily, “ _Sorry, Wakatoshi-kun, but my mom bought a new Blu-ray player and needs me to install the thing. Uhm.. See you at practice I suppose?”_

The brunet felt the breeze ruffle trough his short hair and let out a low hum in affirmation.

“Yes. Pass Hanako-san my regards. I will make sure to message you the information about the vernissage later. Have a good day.”

After getting a strangled reply from his teammate in response, Wakatoshi ended the call and rose from his position on the well-kept lawn. The sun had already started to set and the familiar orange rays tinged the evergreen vines of ivy covering their garden shed into a warm color.  The alpha padded over the grass back to the house and got welcomed by the fond smile of his grandmother, who was sitting on the edge of the dark, wooden veranda with a book. The athlete gave his mother a short update on how his friend would come along, to which the woman beamed with a grateful expression and grabbed the utensils on the table to take his place on the other side of the veranda, where he scribbled down a few more notes on the garden. Without looking up from his lap, where the piece of paper was located, he spoke up with a deep voice.

“Grandmother, what would you think about pink hydrangeas for the garden?”

Without so much more than a surprised blink, the elderly woman turned to see her grandson concentrating on his task of brainstorming new ideas for possible plants, just to look towards her beloved lawn, closing her eyes and smiling to herself.

“That would be lovely, Wakatoshi.”

Once again, she was reminded on how well she had taught him the language of flowers.

 

* * *

 

 

_What._

Satori looked at the display of his phone with disbelief.  
Yes, this was indeed Ushijima’s caller ID at the very top and it was definitely accompanied by the name **Miracle Boy~**.

_What._

With slow movements, the crimson leaned forward to grab the remote of his TV and pause the latest episode of _Shingeki no Kyojin_ he had been watching. His fingers were trembling. His heart was about to jump out of his ribcage. His face felt hot. _Too_ hot for comfort.

_What._

He checked on the caller ID once more.  
No mistake, it was Ushijima’s number.  
Ushijima had called him, which already had him almost fall off the bed earlier.  
Ushijima had asked him to attend an event his mother was funding.  
In other words, he had asked him _out_.  
No, this was not meant to be a date. They had barely talked the past week after the incident with Tsutomu, who thankfully kept his distance from the red-haired omega. This was a thing between friends. It was an offer, Satori had accepted, because they had a platonic relationship as teammates.  
The middle blocker clutched the fabric of his T-shirt, right over the left side of his chest.  
Why wouldn’t his heart calm down then?

“Satori! Get your ass down here! I need assistance with this stupid thing!”

The agitated voice of his mother reached his ears and with a blink, he managed to untangle his limbs from the comfortable position he had been sitting in, although with difficulty, and stumbled to the staircase, where he almost tripped and flew downwards, if he hadn’t taken hold of the wooden banister in the last minute. After drawing in a long breath, Satori carefully climbed down the stairs and entered the living room with a little more sanity than before.  
There, he found his mother crouched in front of their TV stand, quietly cursing modern technology with her worst vocabulary. Her hair was a mess, loose strands of hazelnut hair falling to her face and she was dressed in a baggy sweater, along with black leggings, suiting their lazy Saturday.  
Upon hearing Satori’s footsteps on the carpet, the woman sighed heavily and straightened her back with an exhausted expression. She turned her head and looked at him, with eyebrows suddenly drawn low in concern.

“Angel, do you feel alright?”

The crimson approached the mess of fishy cables, useless instruction manuals and plastic foil she had made on the floor and crouched down next to her, trying not be too obvious.

“Sure. Why though?”

Satori placed the new Blu-ray player on top of the stand and eyed a specific cable, to connect it with the HDMI plug in of their TV. His mother on the other hand, brought her hand up and placed it on his forehead warily.

“You’re really red, dear. Do you feel feverish? Your next heat isn’t due until November..”

The middle blocker stilled for a moment and blinked at his reflection on the dark surface of the TV. After a moment of hesitation, he turned to look at the worried, blue eyes of his mother.

“Uhm.. Mom.?”

The woman noticed his restless shifting on the floor and tilted her head to one side in an assuring manner.

“Yes?”

Satori had always found it difficult to keep things from his mother. Not that he ever needed to, they had an extraordinarily good relationship, but some things had always been hard to address.

“Can I..  borrow one of Yasuo’s suits?

Hanako’s eyes widened in shock for a moment, but her gentle expression from before returned quickly again. The hand that had been resting on his forehead came to stroke his flushed cheek instead.

“May I ask for the reason?”

The crimson averted his eyes and felt his hands dampen in nervosity. Why couldn’t his heart slow down already?

“A classmate asked me to accompany him to a formal event next week and I don’t really have anything to wear..” Satori couldn’t look into his mother’s eyes. She’d see right through him if he did and he couldn’t stand her bickering about a date, since this wasn’t a date. It wasn’t. No, it definitely wasn’t. Where did that word even come from?  
With a quick shake of his head, he continued with more force this time, “Ah, but if it isn’t okay, I’ll just decline the requ-“

“No problem.”

The omega reflexively stared back at her and found her smiling. The smile might have been a little bit tense, but her eyes mirrored warmth. Warmth and comfort. Satori had always felt calm in the presence of those blue eyes and as if by habit, his heartbeat finally started to slow down.  
It was a sensitive topic. His biological father, Yasuo wasn’t here with them anymore. They didn’t talk about him and neither child ever addressed him with the title “Dad” or “Father” in their conversations. It was either an ice-cold “ _he_ ” or a dry “ _Yasuo_ ”, but it was just right. He didn’t deserve anything more after what he had done to them.  
Satori blinked questioningly at his mother and her smile only got wider, never stopping to draw circles on his cheekbone with her hand.

“I’ll have to look for them, but don’t worry. I’ll find something dashing for you to wear.” She leaned forward to press a quick kiss on the roots of his red hair and rose to her feet, before bringing a finger to her lips in a gesture of deep thinking. “Ah, but that’s only if you can install that piece of fiendish junk for me.”

Satori managed to crack a smile of his own replied with a quiet “Thanks”, resuming with his task of setting up their new device. Hanako looked at her concentrated son for a while longer, before turning to enter the doorway, where their broom closet was located. Faintly hearing her youngest child humming to himself in the living room, she pushed down the handle of the door and entered a dusty room with countless cardboard boxes. The remnants of a four-person family lied there, not quite forgotten but stashed away for no one to see.  
She grabbed the top carton and opened it carefully, trying not to break any fragile items that might be deposited in there.  
The first thing that appeared in her vision was a wooden picture frame, dusty and chapped. With one palm, she rubbed some of the dirt on the transparent surface away and stared at a portrait of four people. A young couple in their twenties, the man wrapping a protective arm around his wife and the other one carrying his young daughter, who was grinning toothily at the camera. The woman looked down onto a bundle in her arms, a newborn, whose fuzzy red hair peeked from the blanket he was wrapped in. She looked happy. All four of them did. The couple was smiling down on their new member of the family and one would instantly think that they would stay like this for the rest of their lives.  
Suddenly, unwanted tears of nostalgia sprung to Hanako’s eyes and with shaking hands, she hastily pushed frame to one of the farthest corners on the shelves, where her son wouldn’t find it by accident.  
_He looks so much like him when he smiles.._

 

* * *

 

 

“SATORI! OH MY _GO_ -“

The crimson was just in time to muffle the blond’s boisterous exclamation with both hands clamped over the other’s mouth. The other team members, who were either cleaning the gym floor or putting away the ball cart or the net, were raising their eyebrows at the duo.  
Semi had been in heat up until yesterday and therefore, Satori didn’t have the opportunity to tell his friend about the vernissage Ushijima had invited him to yet.  
Today was Thursday, so the day after tomorrow, he would meet his crush’s mother, face his grandmother after she had seen him crying the last time, go to a social gathering with countless, sophisticated strangers, who might even be celebrities and wear an attire, he was completely uncomfortable with.  
Saying that Satori was nervous, would be the understatement of the year. He was straight out _panicking_. He hadn’t thought it through when he had agreed to come along during the phone call and now he couldn’t turn back anymore. How should he behave? Were there any rules? Could he even talk without stuttering, or walk without tripping under such pressure?  
Semi had of course already noticed the crimson’s anxiety when they had lunch earlier, but only now they had time to really discuss the topic.  
Satori waved happily at the team mates who threw them suspicious glances and stepped back to let the blond omega breathe again.

“Lower your voice, Semisemi. I don’t want others to hear..”

The pinch server cleared his throat and looked around cautiously, before replying with a low volume and leaning in, so that really no one could hear parts of their conversation.

“So you’re telling me that he called you on his own accord and invited you to such an important event on top? Geez, Ushijima never fails to surprise me.” Semi’s eyes landed on their ace, who was discussing something with Coach Saitou and he sighed, straightening up again. “Honestly, I think that this might be pretty good for you two. I mean, you see each other at practice every day, study for exams together or have lunch sometimes, but you’ve never experienced something that got you closer to one another..” Satori blinked at his feet, wringing his hands in discomfort. This whole thing was new to him. He had never dealt with anything similar before and it made him feel scared. Like he had involuntarily entered a chapter of his life he wasn’t quite ready for yet.  
There was no script. No foreshadowing, like at the end of an anime episode. No announcement about a new volume of a manga series.  Hell, he couldn’t predict what would happen. He hated this. But could he escape? Did he even want to escape?

“Hey, Satori.” The crimson looked up from his feet and stared at Semi’s warm, walnut-colored irises that somehow had the same effect as his mother’s eyes. His heart calmed down a little and the strong, comforting hands on his shoulders made him relax. His friend spoke up again. “You have no idea how nervous I was when Hayato asked me out for the first time..”

The red-haired omega snorted.

“What do you mean _‘You have no idea’_? I was there with you when you received the short message _‘Wanna go watch a movie on Friday?’_ You almost crushed my hand in your strong grip back then!”

Semi blushed to the tips of his ears and glared back at his friend for bringing up that embarrassing memory. Satori clutched his stomach and laughed aloud, making several heads turn at the sound. The Shiratorizawa volleyball team hadn’t heard their favorite middle-blocker’s laugh in a while. Even the blond omega couldn’t stop a smile from forming on his still flushed face. His brown eyes reflected his undivided affection towards his omega friend as he continued.

“You shouldn’t be so tense. Be yourself and make the most of the evening. Ushijima is a good man, despite being a dense brick of course. But he won’t make you feel uncomfortable.”

Satori finally felt his nerves calm again and he nodded, if not hesitantly.  
They heard their coaches advise them to better leave the gym now and on their way out, a certain raven eyed the duo with hawk-like eyes. Semi nudged him gently and whispered,

“What’s the situation with Goshiki, though? You didn’t turn him down yet, did you?”

The middle blocker narrowed his eyes and nervously bit his bottom lip, before replying.

“No. I feel like I didn’t quite find the right words to tell him yet.. I would be lying if I said that I hadn’t considered it, but it doesn’t feel the same. It’s just not right if it isn’t with..”

Satori didn’t need to complete his sentence, as Semi already knew how it would have ended anyway. The blond nodded and looked at the gravel beneath their feet, while absentmindedly rubbing his neck, making the crimson roll his eyes.

“God, Semisemi! You smell like you’ve slept in Gatachin’s clothes for days! I wonder how you’re not suffocating from the intensity of his scent!”

The pinch server froze instantly and flushed for the second time of the day, letting his eyes dart anywhere but his friend’s knowing face.

“S-Stupid! He’s just.. I was in heat and since we haven’t seen each other for those days, he just s-scented me this morning.. And I mean..  It’s not like it’s unpleasant..”

Semi fidgeted on his feet and brought a hand up to adjust his fringe, a gesture he always did when he was embarrassed for things that concerned his alpha courtmate.  
Satori made gagging noises and started to walk towards the club room again, calling out to his adorable, omega friend over his shoulder.

“If I ever dare to end up like you, Semisemi, you now have the official permission to punch me. I feel like I’m getting diabetes just from hearing you talk about him!”

The blond glared at his friend for a second, but he knew better. Deep inside, the crimson would welcome to get punched for that reason. Deep inside, Satori wanted a love story just like Semi’s. That’s why Semi could never be seriously hurt by the other’s words. The only one who got hurt by saying those words was Satori himself.

 

* * *

 

 

“Waaaah~! So handsome!!! Wait, let me take a picture for your sister.”

Hanako had just finished adjusting the bow tie of her son’s outfit, when she stepped away to snap a quick shot of his appearance. The crimson groaned in annoyance.

“Mom.. This feels so _awkward._ I’m not made for wearing something this fancy.. Can’t I just put on some jeans and a white shirt?”

His mother angled her cell phone differently, to get a better look at his figure and straight out ignored her sons whining. He was just about to turn around and lock himself into his room, when she lowered the device and stared at him with a gentle smile and blue eyes that held a hint of nostalgia in them.

“I mean it, Angel. You look really mature.”

Satori blinked and turned to look at himself in the mirror once more.  
His ensemble consisted of a white tuxedo shirt; red braces above, that were the same color as his hair, giving it a flippant accent; a white, slim-fitted jacket on top and white suit pants to go along with it. A light grey handkerchief and bow tie of corresponding color completed the look. His normally spiked up hair was parted on one side and fixated with a small amount of hair gel, making some strands fall out of line, but still giving him the perfect vibes for his formal attire.  
Even he had to admit that he looked good.  
But he didn’t feel like himself. It was like he was looking at a younger version of..

“Ok! It’s almost 6pm! You should leave now or your _friend_ might feel troubled by your tardiness!”

 _Oh god.. She totally knows.  
_ Satori forgot about his previous train of thought and groaned at her excited expression and the suspicious glint in her eyes. That smile was a little _too_ wide for comfort.  
With a last glance at the mirror, he pocketed his phone and slid into a grey coat that was surprisingly also complimenting his outfit. His mom had done her job well, even though these weren’t his clothes, but the clothes of a person he’d rather forget about.  
Hanako snapped a last photo of her son and cooed an approval, before lightly pinching his cheek in a gesture of encouragement.

“Have fun tonight. I love you.”

Her blue eyes mirrored longing and Satori swallowed a lump in his throat before replying quietly, “I love you too.”

With that, the crimson stepped out into the chilly October breeze and made his way to the train station.

 

He had not been prepared.  
No one could prepare him for that sight.  
Satori was pressing the doorbell of the traditional Ushijima residence he had already visited in August and just a moment later, the wooden door was opened by no other than the only Ushijima son himself.  
But this wasn’t the ordinary ‘Except for school I’m always wearing trackpants and a T-shirt”-Ushijima. No, this was like getting introduced to a new (hot) character of an anime.  
The alpha was wearing a black, slim-fitted suit, which was sitting tightly in all the right places like his biceps, or his thighs..  
No, he had not thought that just now. Must be the dirty fantasy of some crappy narrator. Yep, that’s totally the explanation.  
Beneath was a dark grey vest, and a white tuxedo shirt, much like Satori’s. The handkerchief and necktie were red, perfectly accentuating the otherwise dark attire. The ace’s olive hair was combed backwards, making his forehead show just a little bit more than usual.  
Satori’s knees went weak for just a second.  
_Holy shit._

“Ah. Tendou. I’m sorry, but would you mind coming inside for another minute? My grandmother is not quite ready yet.”

The captain’s gentle, dark eyes met his and he stumbled forward, nodding instead of answering, since he didn’t trust his capability of voicing anything besides a shrill squeak at the moment.  
He slowly slid out of his coat when he entered the familiar doorway hanging it over one of the hooks. He didn’t notice Ushijima’s eyes on him, until he turned around to look at his friend in wonder.

“You look good.”

Sometimes he hated the alpha for his bluntness.  
Satori’s face flared immediately and he quickly lowered his eyes to his shoes, as to not give away his obvious embarrassment.  
_How can you say that? Are you insane? Do you want to kill me? Shit, say something back. How did words work again?_

“Y-You too.”

It was a mere whisper, but apparently, Ushijima had heard him since he gave something like a grunt as a sign of comprehension. They shuffled to the living room in silence, the omega’s heartbeat as loud as it could possibly be. He sincerely wished for the ace to turn deaf, as he was sure that everyone in a kilometer’s radius of earshot could hear his nervosity.  
Satori could make out faint noises from a room that he suspected to be a bathroom and settled upon the thought that Chiyo was still busy and that they still had time to spend with each other. _Alone._  
The bowtie around his neck suddenly felt a little too tight and he was guessing that he must be sweating buckets, given the amount of blood his body was pumping to calm his nerves. Ushijima entered the living room and the crimson followed suit, immediately catching sight of the garden, as one side of the room was open again.  
Satori’s eyes went wide and he couldn’t stop his jaw from dropping.

“Your garden.. it’s amazing!”

The alpha turned around and followed his friend’s line of sight, lowering his eyebrows in thought. He then turned his head and addressed him directly again.

“Would you like to look at it from up close?”

Not wasting a second, the middle blocker nodded energetically and strode to the veranda, stepping out on the grass and looking around to take in all of the colorful plants. Ushijima appeared next to him and they made their way to some flowerbeds, where Satori decided to crouch down, but still being careful to not stain his suit at the same time.

“What are those called?”

The taller man squatted down too and skimmed the petals of a white flower that looked an awful lot like plants that would grow on a meadow. Their colors varied from white to light pink, up to magenta.

“These are cosmos flowers, or _Cosmos bipinnatus_ , as scientists call them. There are a couple of varieties to choose from, since many people have different tastes and cultivate them differently. They bloom from May to late autumn. There isn’t one single meaning one could associate with them, but they are often considered as a sign of modesty, peace, tranquility or wholeness.”

Satori listened carefully and found himself entranced by the way his friend talked about the plants like they were _guests_ in the spacious garden. He blinked and pointed to a plant that had long, stems, covered by countless, small blossoms in a shade of light violet.

“And those?”

Ushijima followed his finger with his eyes and started to elaborate once again.

“That’s monk’s pepper, or _Vitex agnus-castus_. It’s a popular plant among monasteries, since monks often used its fruit as an aphrodisiac, in order to stay celibate. As you can see,” the alpha got up from his spot in order to pick one of its tiny, violet blossoms, just to return to his place next to the waiting omega shortly after, “it belongs to the mint family. They only have one corolla, which is normally segmented into upper and bottom lip. They have four stamens, apparent in two unequal pairs. See?”

It looked funny how the ace’s strong, calloused fingers held the fragile flower. He was pointing out the details of such a small thing with such enthusiasm, as if it was volleyball he was talking about. Satori couldn’t help but smile. This was an unexpected side of Ushijima. A side that no one but him knew. His heart fluttered at the way the other’s olive gaze narrowed to explain the information in a way that the crimson would comprehend. His chapped lips moved around the words like plants were the most interesting thing in the world. Like each and every blossom had its own story. The omega listened intently and concentrated on keeping the newly won knowledge stored inside his mind. For a moment, he wondered, if the ace would mind it if they stayed home and talked about the different types of flowers all night.  
Just as the thought passed his mind, a female voice called out to them from the direction of the house.

“Wakatoshi, I saw Tendou-kun’s coat in the doorway. The car has arrived!”

Satori inwardly sighed at the interruption, but due to their surprisingly pleasant conversation about botany, he felt a lot calmer than before.  
Ushijima blinked at the voice of his grandmother and if the crimson looked closely, he would notice a shimmer of irritation on the strong face, but that must have been his own wishful thinking, trying to get his hopes up.  
They got up from their squatting position and crossed the lawn once more. A large wall of pink flowers caught Satori’s attention and he involuntarily stopped in his tracks, to stare at the shrubs.

“What are those called? I see them quite often these days..”

He couldn’t tear his gaze from the beautiful display of bright pink pompoms in front of him. How could he not have noticed them up until now? They were by far the most astonishing plants in the garden. It looked like the petals merged into one another, making the wooden fence they were located at, the canvas of a breathtaking painting.  
Ushijima stepped next to him and hesitated for a second, before explaining with his usual, low voice.

“Those are hydrangeas. They are a very popular plant among the Japanese, since they originated from East Asia. Western countries have negative associations with them, as they use the white ones as floral tribute.. But here, they have symbolized apology and gratitude for eras. Their colors can vary and each has its own meaning I guess.”

“What’s the meaning of those?”

After a sheer endless time of staring at the plant, Satori finally looked up at his companion, who apparently decided to do exactly the same thing at the same moment. Their gazes locked when the alpha’s lips moved yet again.

“Genuine emotions. Especially romantic love.”

The crimson didn’t dare to breathe, until Chiyo called out to them once more.  
Who needs air anyway?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok.  
> I don't know what to say.  
> For those of you who were like.. "What's up with the botany stuff, is she a freak?", here's my answer:  
> YES!!! :'D  
> I am actually taking a course about the classification of plants every Thursday (Today's is going to start in.. 14h hours;)) at my Uni, so I know some stuff about botany.  
> I actually picture Waka to be into plants like A LOT and it'll appear in future chapters too, so bear with the scientific aspects please<3  
> Also, I promised angst in the last chapter and now you don't get a lot from this one.. (wait for it..)  
> All in all, I put a lot of effort into this chapter in terms of research and I'd be super duper happy, if you left me a comment and/or kudo on this part^^
> 
> If you want to stay updated on the progress of my stories, follow my blog on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/0rdinaryfangirl).


	8. With You By My Side (Part I)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to keep this note short, since I absolutely want to upload this chapter on the 20th!   
> Uhm.. What to say..   
> Your comments on the last chapter had me like "Gwaaaah!" and "Shuuuuun!" (tried to imitate Hinata that lil' sunshine boy at this point^^') No but srsl, you guys are amazing! I read all of the comments didn't believe it at all, since they were super positive and this is what keeps me motivated! Thank you so much for supporting me so far<3  
> Here comes Chapter 8!

 

_Just how wealthy is this family?_  
Satori took in the interior of the car with a nervous gulp. Ok, scratch that. This wasn’t an ordinary car. It was a business limousine.   
The windows of the luxurious vehicle were tinted in a dark color and the two rows of cushioned, black, leather seats inside, faced each other in manner that could only belong to the set of a movie.   
Ushijima and him were sitting next to each other, facing forward, but not quite close enough to have their arms touch like in any other normal car, given the ridiculous amount of space in the glamorous mode of transportation. Chiyo was sitting across from them, dressed in a formal, ivory-colored yukata with extravagant, silver and gold embroideries on the hems. Her long, grey hair was swept backwards and fixated to a loose bun by a jade barrette. The dark color of her eyes was accentuated by light make-up and tiny, silver earrings in the shape of flowers, dangling beautifully as soon as she tilted her head.   
Satori, too preoccupied with taking in the unfamiliar, glamorous atmosphere, didn’t notice the silence during the ride at all, until his friend’s grandmother spoke up with a smile.

“I apologize, for not pointing it out sooner, but you look absolutely handsome, Tendou-kun.”

The crimson tensed at the compliment and rubbed his sweaty palms on the material covering his thighs, while hesitantly trying to stutter out an answer with a shaky smile of his own. Ushijima’s gaze was directed outside, seemingly apathetic to the anxious state his guest was in.

“Uhm, thank you very much, Chiyo-san. My mother had a little too much fun at making me look passable for this occasion, in my opinion..” The elderly woman let out an amused chuckle and covered her mouth with her slightly wrinkling hand. The laugh was gentle, just like the woman herself and Satori found it quite pleasant, relaxing a little, despite still stressing over how he could possibly get through the evening without having a heart attack.   
  
_“Genuine emotions. Especially romantic love.”_

His head started to spin as soon as he recalled the words and he had entered the car in a daze earlier. No one would ever interpret a simple explanation of a flower’s meaning as a love confession, but Satori couldn’t help but feel his face burn at the memory. Something about the previous (strangely romantic) situation had left a tingling awareness of the alpha in the back of his head. Still, Ushijima didn’t seem affected at all. His sharp profile continued to stare outside the car’s window and it showed no sign of nervosity or anything similar of the sort, proof for the emptiness of his words before. Satori tried hard not to feel dejected by it, but the longer he gazed at his friend’s raw, stern face that was blank of any emotion, the more he failed.

Chiyo seemed to pick up the heavy mood and lightened the atmosphere with some small talk, in which the omega gladly participated.   
The two of them chatted about locations for holidays, their favorite types of foods and a TV drama, coincidently both of them enjoyed watching. After another ten minutes, she started,

“You would have gotten along just well with my late husband, Tendou-kun! He was such a good man, very thoughtful and reliable. We met through an arrangement of our parents, but never have I been more thankful to them for letting me meet my soul mate.” Her eyes glistened with moisture at the memory and Satori would have stopped her from talking about it, if it weren’t for the bright smile on her face that made her glow like she was experiencing her youth again at that moment. “And Takashi, Wakatoshi’s father is just like him. Kazue, my daughter, might have divorced him for legitimate reasons, but look at what they created in their years of happiness.” Chiyo glanced at her grandson with eyes so full of love that the crimson did the same, just to get greeted by the sight of an obviously interested alpha. When had he turned towards their conversation? Satori had probably been too absorbed in the new information about his friend’s background that he hadn’t noticed the alpha listening in. The elderly woman continued while slightly puffing out her chest in pride, “A wonderful, caring, young man and a smart athlete that will play for the national Japanese volleyball team, starting next spring.”

Yes, the omega could only agree on that characterization and smiled at his friend warmly, who was just blinking like some oversized puppy, clearing his throat into his fist, as if uncomfortable with something.   
_Wait._

“Next spring?”

Satori’s gaze wandered back to the woman and she beamed at him with her hands clasping the material of her yukata in her lap like an excited child.

“Yes! Next spring! Isn’t that wonderful?” The omega blinked in confusion and Chiyo’s features shifted to equal puzzlement, eyebrows drawn lower now and tilting her head just the slightest as she addressed the friend of her grandson again. “You.. know about his acceptance to the national team, don’t you?”

The middle blocker drew in a sharp breath and whipped his head towards his teammate in pure shock. Ushijima avoided the red gaze and instead, looked at his lap while fumbling with lint on his black suit pants absentmindedly. If it weren’t for the bump on the street they just drove over, one might have thought the car wasn’t moving at all, when looking at the frozen scene on the passenger’s seat.   
Chiyo was the first to break the silence and she addressed her grandson with a calm, collected voice.

“Wakatoshi. Haven’t you told Tendou-kun about the letter?”

The alpha male scowled at his thighs, meeting neither of their pointed stares and mumbled a low “No.”

The air inside of the vehicle suddenly grew heavy, suffocating even. No one dared to speak.  
_Was this real? Had Ushijima really been accepted to the national team and not told Satori about it?_  
 _When had he received that letter?_  
 _Who else knew about this?_  
 _Did he want to keep it a secret?_  
 _Had he just simply forgotten to tell him or did he not find it important enough to share that piece of information?_  
 _No. This was Ushijima’s dream. It’s nothing but the most important thing that will ever happen to the ace. Even he would share something like that with his friends._  
 _Then why?_  
 _Why wasn’t Satori one of the first to know?_  
 _Why was this not Satori’s business?_  
 _Why couldn’t he be the most valuable person to Ushijima?_

Tears stung in his eyes. Fisting his white suit pants, Satori lowered his head to cover part of his face and forcibly fought back the urge to cry.   
Ushijima had always respected him.   
As an athlete.  
As an anime addict.  
As an omega.  
And as a friend.  
His trusted team mate and best friend had not told him about his lifelong dream coming true. For three years, Satori had supported him as part of his team and as a mental pillar. Ushijima had achieved what he worked so hard for and didn’t feel the necessity in sharing that information with him.  
No problem, he could live with that. Didn’t hurt at all.

The car came to a halt.  
With a worried crease between her eyes, Chiyo opened her mouth in an attempt to speak,

“Tendou-kun, I’m s-“

“YOSH! I’m ready!” The crimson snapped his head back up and sported a wide grin, no trace of sadness, irritation or whatsoever on his excited features, startling both of the Ushijima’s. They looked at him with wide eyes, the male next to him with a shadow of grief in his olive eyes, but Satori didn’t pay it any attention. He smoothed back his parted hair and grabbed the handle of the door with a wink. “Let’s see how much fun we can make this sophisticated-looking event, shall we, Chiyo-san?”

The woman blinked her previous uncertainty away and grabbed the hand Satori was offering her with a smile of her own. They got out of the car and found themselves in front of a large building, the façade illuminated by spotlights in white and different shades of blue.   
There were numerous photographers in front of the main entrance, who tried to take a shot from each and every person who attended the vernissage and just as many broad guards in suits and shades to not let the pararazzi get inside.   
Satori’s knees felt like jelly.   
The upsetting situation in the car just now was briefly forgotten, as a new kind of panic started to rise in the crimson.   
He _definitely_ didn’t belong here. This kind of environment was not made for people who wore baggy t-shirts for 2000 yen, or ate chocolate ice cream from the convenience market.   
The omega’s face paled and his breathing started to come in uneven drags. He couldn’t wish for more than sweatpants, take-out noodles and his bed to curl up in at the moment.   
A warm hand closed around his and he tore his gaze from the flamboyant, bright entrance of the building to look at Chiyo, who sent him an encouraging wink with her dark eyes and squeezed his hand in a comforting way, as if to say “You’ll be alright.”  
Hesitantly, he squeezed back and took a deep breath, closing his eyes to calm his erratic heart down.   
_Come on. Get out of your comfort zone, Satori!_

Ushijima appeared next to them and after giving a final nod to himself, the three of them approached their destination with tense shoulders.   
Today was supposed to be a step forward, not backwards.  
  


* * *

 

Something was wrong.  
And whatever it was, Wakatoshi was the cause.   
His grandmother, who had her arm hooked in Tendou’s, charismatically made her way towards the entrance, pulling the crimson with her.   
Neither of them was sparing the alpha a word or even a glance.   
Wakatoshi had never been the one to read people, but even he could pick it up when someone ignored him for now reason at all.   
What could he possibly have done to upset them?  
With a scowl on his face, they skillfully managed to dodge the pestering photographers on their way towards the lady at the front door, who had a clipboard in her hand, jutting something down from time to time. They thankfully reached the rather crowded entrance without any problems and the doorwoman greeted the group with a business smile.

“Good evening. Would you mind giving me your names?”

Ignoring the agape mouth and the rapid breathing of her red-haired companion, his grandmother mirrored the smile and answered her just as professionally.

“Of course. Ushijima, three people.”

The lady blinked at them as if processing the information and sucked in a sharp breath after realization dawned on her features.

“Ah! How impolite of me to not recognize you sooner, Ushijima-san!” The lady scribbled something on her clipboard and pressed a finger to the small device in her ear, murmuring something along the lines of “Ushijima Kazue-san’s family has arrived. Please inform her immediately of their arrival.” Wakatoshi spared a glance at his friend, who had visibly stiffened at the word _‘family’_ for some reason. The woman with the clipboard beamed at them again and continued, “Your daughter will be available in a short amount of time. Have a nice evening.”

His grandmother nodded and they entered the building.   
Once again, Wakatoshi was reminded how much he resented to attend these events.  
The foyer was bright. The floor was made of fair marble and there were many high tables to enjoy a glass of champagne or eat canapés of different sorts at. The decoration consisted of white table cloths, tea lights in low glasses, halfway filled with blue granules and small arrangements of white flowers, such as lilies or daisies on each table.   
Waiters and waitresses made their way through the crowd to serve drinks and food in mouthsized bites on silver platters.   
The majority of the people stood in small groups, laughing extraordinarily loud over jokes or anecdotes that weren’t funny at all, or faked smiles and nods in order to not seem impolite to the person they were talking to.   
The women at these events wore too much perfume, completely covering their individual scents and mixing in the air to a huge cloud of sweet musk, far from natural.   
The men tried to show off with the superficial knowledge, or simply bragging about their possessions, such as cars, women or money.   
Wakatoshi never desired to be part of a society like this. A society where the least people worked for their wealth, inheriting everything from former generations. A society of people who were faking smiles and happy marriages, while having an affair behind the partner’s back. A society who didn’t treasure anything besides materialism.   
Fortunately, the Ushijima’s had never been part of scandals and actually worked hard to maintain their status. Still, the youngest alpha of the family had decided for himself to pursue the career of an athlete, instead of taking over the business and thankfully, his mother and grandmother had been more than just understanding, wishing for him to become truly happy with whatever decision he made for his future.   
The ace’s thoughts were interrupted by a symphony of female cheers and a group of elderly women with too much make up and perfume made their way towards them.

“CHIYO! Dear! We haven’t seen you in ages!”

Tendou’s eyes darted to the woman releasing his arm and she turned to address both of the high schoolers with a whisper, “The widows of the board. They’ll bombard you with personal questions and try to couple you with their granddaughters, if you two don’t disappear. Hush now, I’ll distract them.”

His grandmother gently pushed them towards another group of people and spun around to greet her approaching acquaintances with a wave, accompanied by a forced smile.   
Wakatoshi skillfully grabbed two flutes with juice from the plate of a passing waiter and extended one to his team mate.

“Would you like to have some?”

Tendou, who had beads of sweat on his forehead and whose face had lost some of its usual color, accepted the glass with a quiet “thanks”. The omega hadn’t looked him in the eye since when? Since their departure with the car?   
They remained at a nearby wall, observing the other guests and quietly sipping their drinks in silence.   
Under normal circumstances, Tendou would sport one of his toothy grins and exclaim his astonishment about the spacious, glamorous foyer. He would probably grab some of the canapés, stuff them in his mouth and moan at their tastiness, only asking what it was he had been gobbling up afterwards. He would explore the place and drag his alpha friend with him, going on about how huge that ice sculpture was or how much that one man resembled a monkey and Wakatoshi would mumble a brief reply, before getting pulled to the next curiosity, his friend spotted.   
This was the kind of evening, the alpha had anticipated, so why was the crimson’s gaze downcast, instead of looking straight ahead? Why was he quietly sipping on his juice, instead of rattling over something? Why were the edges of his lips pulled low, instead of stretching to form a bright smile? And why was Wakatoshi staring so much anyway?  
Licking his lips, the ace breathed in to start a conversation.

“Ten-“

“Wakatoshi!”

Both of the males looked up to see a woman in her forties approach them. She was dressed in a black pant suit and silver heels. The bangle on her wrist and her earrings accentuated the attire with white zirconia, while her lips shone in a bright red. The color complimented her fair skin and the shoulder-lengthened, black hair was parted to the sides like usual.   
Her heels clicked on the marble, as she made their way towards them and the pleasant smile, she was wearing was an indication for the success of the evening so far.   
Wakatoshi felt the omega next to him tense at the sight and he remembered that the two of them weren’t acquainted yet, so he leaned in to whisper, “This is my mother.”  
For some unknown reason, Tendou jumped a little at the information and fumbled anxiously with hem of his white jacket.   
His mother immediately took him into an embrace as soon as she stood in front of them, although she was at least one head smaller than him, even with heels. Wakatoshi awkwardly closed an arm around her in return and she finally stepped back to eye his company with her scrutinizing stare. Tendou clasped and unclasped his hand to a fist and introduced himself without breaking eye contact with the business woman.

“My name is Tendou Satori, 18 years old. I attend Shiratorizawa Acadamy with your son and play the position of a middle blocker in the volleyball team. My forte is cheering people up and reading. I’m bad at studying, cooking and pretty much any other domestic activity. I have a sister, who is two and a half years older than me and I have a good relationship with her and my mother. Furthermore, I aspire to work for a publishing house someday.”

Wakatoshi blinked at the amount of unnecessary information his friend had revealed to his mother right now and after a moment of initial shock on her face, said woman let out a hearty laugh, making several heads turn towards them. The alpha furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Had he missed some kind of amusing remark just now? Tendou’s face looked strangely red for some reason, but as soon as her fit of laughter died down, she wrapped her arms around the crimson also.  When they separated, the omega closed his mouth around inaudible words, while his mother sported the kind of smile, she only revealed in front of her family members. Wakatoshi’s chest warmed at the sight. He briefly wondered if there had been alcohol in the juice..

“It’s nice to make your acquaintance, Tendou-kun. I’m Ushijima Kazue, the mother of that cinnamon roll over there,” she glanced towards him. What did she mean by cinnamon roll? The ace furrowed his brows in thought, while the raven continued “but please, you can call me Kazue.”

Tendou’s face lit up, as if there had been some kind of hidden message in her words or actions that only the crimson was able to catch. The brunet wasn’t sure what had happened in the last few moments, but the newfound smile on his friend’s face reassured him that whatever it had been was a good thing.  
They chatted about the vernissage for a few minutes and finally, his mother revealed their assigned tasks for the evening, shifting to a more serious tone, as this was business again.  

“As I already said, there has been an error in the guest list and that’s why I needed some reliable people to jump in. In a few minutes, we’ll open the doors to the exhibition room and all these people here are supposed to be potential buyers for the art in there.” Kazue gestured towards the heavy, red doors, supposedly leading to an even larger room. “This year, we have numerous artists, we’d like to support with this event and therefore, we are in need of some people to look after the artists for the next two to three hours.” She paused again, to make sure that both of the males understood the situation. Tendou gave a nod and Wakatoshi hummed in comprehension. “Good. What I’m asking of you, is to stay with them and their relatives and handle the supply of whatever they might need, like drinks, food, or more business cards.”

Wakatoshi saw Tendou’s face constrict at the idea of so much responsibility over something he wasn’t familiar with, but his mother quickly interrupted whatever train of thoughts, the omega might have had at that moment.

“Don’t worry I assigned the both of you to uncomplicated clients, so there shouldn’t be any troubles.”

After giving them the names of their respective artists and with a last, warm smile on her red lips, Kazue excused herself to start preparing for the main event and the two boys were left alone again.   
Silence settled upon their isolated space for the umpteenth time that day and Wakatoshi tried to remember what he had wanted to say, right before his mother had interjected, but a tug on the sleeve of his black jacket startled him instead.   
Tendou wasn’t looking at him directly, but he made sure to have caught the alpha’s attention before speaking,

“Want to.. uhm.. look around? I mean, before the main event starts. I’d like to try one or two of those mouthsized snacks.”

Wakatoshi was nodding before the crimson had even mentioned the snacks. Some sort of giddiness made his limbs feel light as they strode through the crowded foyer. There must have been alcohol in that juice after all.

  __

* * *

 

 

“Let’s see.. _Kyoshigo-san_..”

The doors to the exhibition room had opened just a few moments ago and Satori was currently shuffling through the crowd of potential buyers, trying to find the artist he had been assigned to take care of by Kazue-san.   
The room had a high ceiling with a dome of glass in the middle. The chandeliers above the people, tinted the space golden and if the omega had to place the ambience, he would describe it as a modern version of the ball rooms from the western movies, his mother loved to watch so much.   
Fascinated by the breathtaking room, Satori didn’t pay attention to his surroundings and bumped into another young man, who had his back on him. Surprised by the sudden impact, he quickly lowered his head in apology, hoping that it wasn’t some kind of presumptuous, rich kid he had collided with.

“I’m so sorry!”

He kept his head low, waiting for a response from the unknown person, who smelled heavily like an alpha, just to get greeted by a loud shriek that sounded a little too familiar.

“T-Tendou-san?!”

Satori blinked in confusion and drew his eyebrows together, before raising his head in suspicion.   
His jaw dropped when he caught sight of the one person, he hadn’t prepared to face just yet.   
With a nervous gulp and clammy hands, he managed to stutter a pathetic greeting.

“Tsutomu.. Uhm. Good to see you, I guess?”

The young wing spiker blinked at him and the shock of the unexpected encounter was still quite apparent on his face. They stared at one another in uncomfortable silence and just when Satori decided to ask for the raven’s whereabouts, a male voice from behind him caught his attention.

“Tsutomu, help me with this painting!”

The alpha snapped out of his trance and grabbed the crimson’s wrist, in order to tug him towards what seemed like the exhibition space of one specific artist. They passed a sign that said _Kyoshigo,_ so the middle blocker decided against arguing with his kouhai, since that very boy coincidentally dragged him near his destination.   
With slightly wrinkled suits, they arrived at a wall with countless paintings, the motives varying from landscapes to portraits. They were beautiful in Satori’s opinion and as much as he liked to stare at the pieces of artm he would have almost missed the artist himself, who was almost forcibly trying to pull a huge painting out of its wooden case. Goshiki immediately let go of his wrist as he caught sight of the man, handling his work so carelessly and stormed over to him.

“Nii-san, you’ll ruin the painting like that! Here, like this..”

The younger of the two carefully pulled the painting out and handed it in just the same gentle manner to the taller one. Satori almost snorted in amusement.   
The artist looked like a bigger, bulkier version of his kouhai, with just a little scruff on his chin. Same hair color, same eyes.. God, they even had the same, ridiculous bangs.

“Thank you, Tsutomu.. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

The taller version smiled gently at the younger one, who naturally beamed at that and it was more than obvious that those two were related by blood.  
Goshiki exchanged a few words with the artist, which Satori wasn’t able to catch and the raven jogged over to him with a much more relaxed expression than before.

“Sorry, my brother is famous for having a short temper when it comes to his art.. That’s why I’m here.” He grinned toothily at his senpai and the crimson couldn’t restrain a smile of his own. This was the Tsutomu he liked most. The expression of the young alpha shifted to a questioning one and he tilted his head to one side, “But why are you here, Tendou-san? Is one of your relatives also an artist?”

Satori wrung his hands in front of him and avoided to look the other straight in the eye.   
_Could he tell him that he was here with Ushijima?_  
It would surely make him uncomfortable.  
But this wasn’t a date.  
He shouldn’t feel guilty for helping the mother of a friend out.  
It wasn’t his fault that Goshiki’s brother was an artist at this vernissage.   
Still, it would be awkward to explain.  
He still hadn’t given the alpha an answer on his courtship proposal.   
He should be honest with his kouhai.   
But it wasn’t necessary to mention it.  
It was unlikely that Goshiki met Ushijima in this crowd, since there were hundreds of people here. 

 The omega cleared his throat and started,

“I’m doing a friend a favor, by helping out the artists.” (At least, this wasn’t a lie.) “I’m actually quite late already.. Do you know where I can find a person with the name _Kyoshigo-san_? I’ve seen a sign with his name on it before..”

The older Goshiki leaned on the head of his younger brother, sporting a sly grin and pointed a thumb at himself.

“Yo! That’s me! Goshiki Kyo, aka Kyoshigo. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, _Crush-kun_.”

The first year middle blocker flushed a deep shade of red and jerked away from his older brother, who was clutching his stomach in a bad attempt of holding in his laughter.

“N-NII-SAN! You weren’t supposed to say that! Oh my god, I apologize for my embarrassing brother, Tendou-san!”

Goshiki tried to stay mad at his brother, whose gasps for air only got louder by the “scolding”, his younger relative was giving him and the crimson stood there, frozen in place.  
He was forced to spend the evening with Goshiki.  
The same Goshiki, who had asked to court him a few weeks ago.  
The only one he wanted to keep his distance from for now.

What else could this evening possibly include?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already mentioned that I outlined the plot for the next few chapters in my Tumblr post the last time, but couldn't get my ass up to type it and now here I was, at 12:05pm this noon, stuffing my mouth with raisins and coffee when I saw a birthday post for Tendou on Insta..  
> I froze up completely (coughed up some raisins) and googled, if this was really true and well.. it was. Today is Tendou's birthday and I could never forgive myself, if I didn't update this today so I wrote these 4.5k words like some crazy maniac and here it is. Boom, there you have it.   
> Do not worry, this is of course only the first part of the vernissage and I'll update the second part on.. let's say Wednesday!  
> All that's left to say is: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIRACLE BOY! I love you so much, stay awesome and I'll fight for your relationship with Waka! You're my lovely baby and being an otaku is what makes you so adorbs<3" 
> 
> As always, I'd be super happy if you left me a comment and/or a kudo!  
> Follow my blog on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blogs/0rdinaryfangirl) for updates!
> 
> (Additional note: Some of you might have realized it already, but Tendou has shown symptoms of anxiety. Since I'll get more into the "deeper" plot points from now on, I want to inform you that there will be some scenes in this fic, which migt trigger unwanted emotions, so if you cannot handle the grahic description of panic attacks/ relapses and violence, pls be sure to always read the author's notes, since I'll mark the chapters that I find severe)


	9. New Moon (Part II)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience! (>.<')  
> (Don't want to write much at the beginning, since I'm just simply excited for this update, so here we go!)  
> Enjoy the read<3

 

 “Excuse me, but are you by any chance Arakawa Kaori-san?”

Wakatoshi had previously passed a sign with the name _Arakawa Kaori_ on his way through the exhibition room, which was the artist he had been assigned to by his mother.  
The petite woman in front of a wall with various, abstract paintings in bright colors had caught his attention and the fact that she was gesticulating towards one of the works, while talking to a potential client, made the young man assume that this was the person he was searching for.  
After the client left with a business card of the woman, Wakatoshi had approached her and straightforwardly asked the question.  
Up close, he could make out her features better. She had long, black hair that fell over her shoulders like silk, while her robe shone in bright turquoise, with countless, glittering palettes attached to her neckline. Her skin was pale and her dark eyes were accentuated by the wing of black eyeliner. She was quite beautiful and probably in her early thirties, if he had to guess her age.  
The woman blinked at his sudden question, but quickly fixed the loose strand of hair that had fallen to her face and greeted him with a smile.

“Yes, that would be me! How may I help you?”

Getting straight to the point, Wakatoshi explained,

“My name is Ushijima Wakatoshi. I am supposed to provide for your well-being this evening. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Arakawa-san.” He bowed his head slightly in a gesture of respect, before adding with his usual, deep voice, “If there is anything you need, please do not hesitate to ask.”

When he raised his head again, the ace saw the artist in front of him cup her cheek with a bright blush, before blinking rather rapidly and giving a violent jerk of her head, presumably also a bow.

“Oh my! It’s a pleasure to be working with _you_ , Ushijima-kun! Thank you for making this vernissage possible and having your family support our work!”

Wakatoshi nodded and silence fell upon their exchange. Arakawa-san looked up at him with wide eyes and anxiously fidgeted on her feet, as if not sure what to say next. Her flushed face hadn’t faded yet and the high schooler was about to ask if he should organize a glass of water to calm her nerves, just when another figure loomed next to them.

“My, would you look at that?” Both of them turned at the deep baritone of the male voice and Wakatoshi’s eyes slightly widened at the sight of the newcomer. “Dear, please don’t look at other men like that! Although he’s _slightly_ younger and maybe just a _little_ more handsome than me.”

The man, who had now wrapped a strong arm around Arakawa-san’s waist and nuzzled her hair playfully, was a few centimeters taller than Wakatoshi, which was a surprise as the teen was already above the average height of a Japanese man. _An alpha._ Only the high schooler was able to pick up the sharp glance and the intimidating aura around him as if signaling that this woman was his and his alone. Despite getting greeted by a smile of the man, Wakatoshi had to gulp at the act of dominance. _A quite possessive alpha at that._ He lowered his olive gaze and studied the other’s get up, instead of meeting those piercing eyes once more. The older alpha’s attire consisted of a dark grey pinstripe suit and a turquoise bow tie, matching his wife’s dress and contrasting his hair color, which was a very unusual tone and had Wakatoshi narrow his eyes in irritation.  
  _Fiery red..  
_ The ace was snapped out of his trance, as a wail cut through the air.

“Papa! I’m thirsty!”

Wakatoshi looked to his feet and saw a toddler clutching the hem of the husband’s pants. The male child had the black hair of his mother, which was kept short at the sides and a little longer above. Despite being a kindergartner, the boy had hard features and sharp eyes, much like his father.  
The red-haired man crouched down and picked up his son, excusing himself with an apologetic nod and disappearing in the crowd without so much as a last glare(?) towards the younger alpha.  
The artist looked after them and directed her attention to Wakatoshi again, when they were out of sight.

“I’m sorry, Ushijima-kun, but I guess your main occupation will be to babysit my son.. He turned four last week and entered the rebellious stage this summer that’s why he might be a handful..” The woman wrung her hands in uncertainty and bit her bottom lip, before continuing, “My husband will look after him whenever he can and I know that it’s a lot to ask from you, but would you keep an eye on him when Yassun can’t?”

Arakawa-san looked at him pleadingly and the ace knew that he didn’t have any other choice besides saying “Yes, of course”, with a respectful bow.

The woman brightened immediately and waved at her son, who came running towards them  
with a juice box in his tiny hand. She bent down and explained with a smile on her lips,

“Hiro-chan, this is Ushijima-kun and he’ll be your friend for today, alright?” The boy blinked up at Wakatoshi and he suddenly felt strangely nervous with the young boy studying him, until his mother continued. “Be a good boy and stay by his side when Papa and Mama are busy, yes?”

The son, _Hiro-chan_ , turned to smile like the sun at his mother and she ruffled the tufts of his black hair in adoration, before a call from one of the guests who had eyed her work in interest caught her attention. She thanked Wakatoshi a last time, before shuffling towards the client and Hiro immediately tugged on the pant leg of the young alpha. The brunet looked down to find the boy with an annoyed expression.

“Ushi.” _Ushi? Did he just call him Ushi_? “I’m bored.”

The captain’s eyes widened in confusion at the sudden change of attitude and crouched down to the boy’s eye level, trying not to bump into the guests around them too much.

“And what would you like me to do, in order to not feel bored anymore?” As if offended by the question, Hiro crossed his arms over the chest and turned his head away, without giving an answer. The boy was ignoring him already, _great_. Wakatoshi sighed and rubbed his neck. He was lost. Never in his life did he have to deal with children before, so he had no idea how to treat them, let alone talk with them. Hell, he couldn’t even manage to have a normal conversation with his classmates due to his lack in skill of social interaction.  
Before consulting the boy’s mother, a familiar shadow appeared next to them and Wakatoshi shot up from his squat as if by instinct.  
The alpha husband gave him a pat on the shoulder and the younger man almost flinched away from the touch.  
_Why did he feel so hostile towards a stranger?_

“Don’t mind him, Ushijima-kun. He’s acting quite bratty at the moment, because Kaori and I dragged him to this event.” The crimson man sounded and looked more relaxed than before and Wakatoshi actually managed to look him in the eye without feeling on edge, finding them to be an oddly familiar shade of reddish brown. “Just take him around the room and look at the different pieces of art. He’s actually quite interested in his mother’s profession, but doesn’t show it often. If there are any problems, find us here.”

The man smiled reassuringly and the athlete nodded in comprehension, murmuring low words of thanks. _Even the smile was kind of similar.._  
As the crimson made to turn towards his wife, Wakatoshi’s spoke up by reflex,

“Excuse me!” The husband turned around once more and tilted his head at the call. The brunet’s palms felt damp from cold sweat and his breathing came shaky, but there were just too many coincidences to not ask. “It may not be my place to ask something so personal but.. Do you know someone by the name of Tendou Satori?”

Too oblivious to pick up the slight difference in the too wide smile, Wakatoshi didn’t catch the edge of the other’s mouth twitching at the name, before he replied with a tint of faked regret on his voice.

“No, sorry. I’ve never heard of that name before.”

With that, the man excused himself to help his wife and the ace was left in the crowd, frowning at the unexpected answer he had received.  
_They look so much alike.. How can they not be related?  
_ A tug on his knee snapped him out of his thoughts yet again.

“Ushi! I want to walk around!”

The young alpha dismissed the confusing developments from his mind and picked up the boy, who seemed reluctant to the idea of being carried by someone other than his father at first, but couldn’t quite maneuver his way through the throng of adults by himself.  
With Hiro leaning against his chest, the two of them started walking around the grand hall, Wakatoshi’s thoughts always drifting back to the mysterious, crimson-haired man whose name he had forgotten to ask.

 

* * *

 

“ _-dou-san?_.. Tendou-san?”

Satori’s head shot up at the call and he found Goshiki staring at him with his big, doe eyes. It had been an hour since the exhibition started and up until now, he didn’t have anything of significance to do, besides helping to set up a display for Tsutomu-nii-san and getting both of them a drink once. Kazue-san had been right. The _Kyoshigo_ family wasn’t much work and he was thankful for that.  
He had been in a conversation with his kouhai, until his thoughts drifted elsewhere a few minutes ago. Ashamed of his actions, Satori lowered his head in apology.

“Uhm.. I’m sorry, Tsutomu I wasn’t listening.. What were you saying?”

The younger of the two drew his eyebrows together and looked at him concernedly.

“Nothing important, but are you alright, Tendou-san? You seem to be distracted by something..”

Watching the other’s brother skillfully advertising his art to a seemingly interested couple a few feet away, the crimson waved his worries away with a smile.

“Nope, everything’s peachy! Just feeling a little on edge because of this event! It’s strange how everyone here looks so refined,” Satori gestured to the mass of people that looked like celebrities (some of them might as well be) and gave a chuckle, pointing at his kouhai, “even you look smooth! Makes me want to snap pics of my cute wing spiker!”

Goshiki flushed his usual shade of red and averted his eyes to the hands, clutching the material of the pants in his lap in embarrassment.  
But Satori was right, he really looked good.  
The raven was wearing a dark blue suit with a cream-colored vest beneath and a handkerchief of the same color tugged in his breast pocket. His bangs were a little less unruly than during their practices, given the slight amount of gel in his hair. Wearing something mature like this, Goshiki looked nothing like a 16 year old high schooler, more like the son of some rich family that would spend their vacation in Europe with a dozen maids and a dog named _Sandro Martinez_. The crimson chuckled inwardly at the thought and relaxed in his posture, continuing to watch the older brother handle his business with the clients, until a murmur to his left made him perk up again.

“..too.”

“Hm?”

He leaned in to catch, whatever the young alpha had muttered to himself.

“I-I said.. You look g-good too..!”

Satori froze.  
Goshiki looked up from his lap and sent him a dead serious gaze, indicating that this was the beginning of something, Satori would have liked to avoid for the moment.  
Too shocked to reply with a coherent sentence, he choked out a pathetic “Eh?”  
The raven locked gazes with him, lips pressed into a thin line, before taking a deep breath and asking in the very same voice of that day.

“Tendou-san..” The air felt thick. _Run._ Satori felt his hands begin to shake and he gulped on his dry throat.  _Hide._ It almost seemed as if Goshiki’s stare numbed his senses and pinned him to his seat. The scenery of the colorful crowd around them blurred for a moment he couldn’t hear anything besides the thrumming in his ears. _Get away._ Couldn’t he see that Satori wasn’t ready yet? That he would probably never be ready?! “Have you considered my proposa-“

“HEY HEY! That’s some intense staring you’re doing there, lil’ bro! Better not scare Crush-kun off, hm?”

Right when the crimson wanted to shoot up from his position and run to the nearest bathroom in order to calm his proceeding panic attack, Goshiki Kyo trapped his younger brother in a headlock to break their eye contact. Satori would honestly jump hug that guy for rescuing him out of that conversation, if it weren’t for his dulled limbs.  
The younger brother immediately barked at his relative with an angered expression.

“NII-SAN! Don’t interrupt me, we were-“ Kyo motioned to his brother to study the state of their guest and Goshiki’s eyes widened, voice getting thinner with every passing second “-having a conversation..”

Satori’s breath was coming in short pants, fingers fisting the fabric of his suit tightly, making his knuckles turn white. The cold sweat on his temple dampened a strand of red hair that hung loosely to his face and he didn’t dare to open his eyes given the burning sensation behind the lids. His mouth remained closed, too afraid of the whimper that might come out in this situation.  
_Great, a relapse in front of Tsutomu._  
_I need something to calm myself with._  
_Mom or Semi._  
_They’re not here.._  
_My bed._  
_Also not here!_  
_Wakatoshi’s jacket._  
_Why am I even thinking of that?!_  
_I’m so pathetic._  
_I shouldn’t have come!_

“Tendou-san, do you need-“

Satori sensed a hand trying to touch his shoulder and as if by reflex, he jumped up to escape the approach, snapping his eyes open and giving a weak, shaky laugh to the brothers, who were both looking at him with matching expressions of concern.

“Ahaha.. Let’s talk about this another time, yes, Tsutomu? I’ll go and fetch myself a drink, all these people and their scents are making me dizzy,”

“Tendou-san, I-“

“See you later!”

Leaving Goshiki and his scowling, older brother behind, Satori disappeared into the crowd, ignoring his wobbly legs and the heavy lump in his throat, threatening to get thrown up, along with the snacks they had in the foyer earlier.  
He didn’t know where he was going and he didn’t care if someone just took him away at the moment. Everything was better than having to deal with one of his attacks in public when he was alone.  
_I shouldn’t have come._  
With a panicked expression and a racing pulse, he searched the crowd for the front doors and headed straight towards them. He could go home. He could send Ushijima a message that he got a stomachache and leave. He could take a train and tell his mother with a convincing peace sign that the evening ended earlier than expected and curl up in his room. In a warm blanket and a memory of pink hydrangeas. He could do that. They would never have to talk about this again and he could call in sick for a few days at school. Semi would be worried and the matter with Goshiki would remain unresolved for the moment but the desire for a warm bed and a mug of chocolate that his mother would surely make for him, were stronger than his loyalty to his friends. Head home. Escape this evening. Good idea.  
Right before reaching the doors, a strong grip around his wrist made him stop in his tracks. He turned around with remaining, salty moisture in his eyes.  
_Who-?_

* * *

 

 

“FOR FUCK’S SAKE! TSUTOMU, WHAT THE HELL?!”

His brother was hissing angrily into his ear, as to not cause a commotion at his work place. The young alpha on the other hand, was staring towards the spot in the crowd, where Tendou had disappeared in a hurry a few moments ago.  
Not having met the eyes of his older sibling, Kyo grabbed him by the collar of his suit and violently turned him around. Tsutomu blinked at his brother in a daze and the other snarled once more.

“Didn’t you see that you scared him? I know that you’re an alpha and all and _I’m_ just a boring beta so I don’t know what’s going on in that mushy head of yours but whatever you were doing was inappropriate and disrespectful, do you get that?!”

The younger raven’s gaze dropped and he felt the wave of shame wash over him.  
_He had scared Tendou.. He had been impatient and became pushy..  
_ Tsutomu studied the tips of his shoes with watery eyes.

“He.. felt uncomfortable, didn’t he?”

Kyo let go of the younger’s shirt and slid a hair through his dark bangs, sighing loudly.

“Clearly.  Thankfully I interrupted before you could make it any worse. How can you be so aggressive with that angelic face of yours? Geez..”

The first year fisted his pants and fought against the tears that were threatening to fall, giving a weak hiccup.

“N-Nii-san.. What should I do? I don’t want him to hate me..”

 _  
_ A woman called for the artist and he quickly waved at her, before leaning down to his sniffling brother.

“Listen, I’ll manage alone for a while, so you’d better search for him and apologize. You’re not going to do anything else, only apologize, understood? I don’t want to hear anything about courtship for the rest of the evening. You’ll give him as much time as he needs or I’ll be angry.. And I don’t mean the “somebody bought the wrong brand of paint for my pictures”-kind of angry, but more like the “somebody ate my last piece of lasagna”-kind. You get me?”

Tsutomu nodded with a strong motion of his head, because _no one_ wanted to experience Kyo when he lost his lasagna. The young raven stood up and made his way towards the crowd, mouthing his brother a silent “Thanks.”  
_Was Tendou-san really alright?_  
Worry started to rise in the alpha as he pushed through the crowd.

 

* * *

 

 

“Ushi! I want to see this one!”

“No, this one.”

“Next artist.”

“This one’s boring, walk over there.”

 _Am I his butler or his dog?_  
Wakatoshi had been babysitting the son of Arakawa-san for a little more than an hour now and slowly but surely, he was getting tired. Kids were a handful. Were all of them like this?  
He inwardly sighed when the boy pointed to a grand wood carving that looked like a whale and started talking about how his father had seen real whales on a business trip one time. This man, _Yassun_ , made Wakatoshi feel uncomfortable. He wasn’t rude or impolite, or as pompous as some other men in the room, but something about him was.. odd. The young ace couldn’t place the feeling, but there was something about him that woke restlessness in the brunet. It was the feeling he got when a thunder storm threatened to destroy his grandmother’s garden, or when his father didn’t call in a while, as if something or somebody was in danger.  
Still, he didn’t know him and the first impression he had gotten from the crimson, was a caring father and husband, who supported his wife in her profession, mentally and physically and who was just a little bit too protective over his family.

“Ushi, I want a drink!”

Wakatoshi paused his train of thought and looked at the dark eyes of the boy in his arms. With a nod, he made his way to the foyer and stopped at the bar, letting Hiro sit on one of the bar stools, where he could observe the crowd better than before, given the added height. He ordered two boxes of juice and slid next to the kindergartener.

“Hey, Ushi!” _Why was he calling him that anyway?_ “You’re an alpha, right?”

The ace poked the straw into the box and took a sip, before answering.

“Yes, I am.”

“That’s cool! I’ll be an alpha too!”

The raven boy kicked his legs back and forth, almost spilling the contents of his drink over his shirt. Wakatoshi frowned at the comment.

“I apologize for saying this, but I believe that you cannot choose your second gender by will.”

Hiro looked up at him with a beaming smile.  
_At least, his mood is better._

“But Papa wishes for me to be one! Mama doesn’t mind either gender, but Papa is the strongest alpha I know and he is my idol, so I’m going to be one too!”

The athlete blinked at the answer and the frown deepened.. _He wants his son to be an alpha? What kind of father, living in the 21 st century would wish for an alpha son?_

Hiro blabbered on and Wakatoshi listened with one ear, sometimes giving a grunt or a nod as a reply, as his mind was occupied with thoughts about the boy’s father.  
A tug on his sleeve made him perk up still.

“Hey look, that’s Papa!” The alpha’s eyes followed the small finger, pointing towards the doors of the entrance, where a figure with red hair determinedly approached the exit. Due to the bright light of the chandeliers, Wakatoshi had to squint his eyes, in order to make out more of the person.  
“Aww.. It’s not him.. Papa’s wearing dark grey and that guy has a white suit, but still, they have the same hair, weird.”

Hiro deflated in his seat and resumed sucking on the straw of his juice, but the older one couldn’t tear his gaze away. That person looked familiar. They were pretty far away, but the guy at the entrance seemed rather panicked and looked around in a hurry.  
Was he being followed or in danger? Should he call the security guards?  
Something clicked in Wakatoshi’s mind and he remembered just _who_ he was with today.  
_..Tendou?_

The ace scowled in confusion, because why was his friend in such a hurry to leave?  
Right before he could walk over and ask for Tendou’s whereabouts, a slightly shorter person left the crowd and approached the crimson from behind, grabbing the omega’s wrist and visibly startling him, given the surprised jerk, Wakatoshi could see from the bar.  
_Who is that?_  
The person with dark hair, who had still _not_ let go of the crimson’s hand yet, dragged the both of them out of the room, Tendou reluctantly following close and they disappeared from Wakatoshi’s vision.  
_Just WHO was that?_  
  
“Ushi? Do you hold a grudge against that box?”

The brunet, finally released from his stun, turned to look at Hiro, who was pointing to the crushed drink in his hand. Thankfully, the box had been empty already, or he might have spilled everything over his clothes. With an irritated scowl, Wakatoshi released the carton, handed it to the man behind the counter and pulled the boy from his seat.

“I will bring you to your parents.”

Hiro, whose legs were like four times shorter than the high schoolers, ran after the teen in order to keep up and eyed his “guardian” with a puzzled look.  
After maneuvering their way through the endless throng of people, Wakatoshi spotted Arakawa-san talking to an older woman, before she raised her head to greet them with a cheerful wave.

“Ushijima-kun! Thank you for keeping an eye on Hiro! I hope he wasn’t too much of a burden for you.”

The athlete subconsciously scanned the area for any sign of the woman’s husband, but found him nowhere to be seen.  
Giving a respectful bow, he answered with hurry laying deep in his voice,

“No, of course not. There is something important I have to take care of. May I step out for a minute, Arakawa-san?”

The petite woman shushed her son to a chair in front of the paintings and let a warm smile tug on the edges of her lips.

“Sure, take your time, Ushijima-kun! Hiro must be getting tired anyway by now.”

Wakatoshi noticed the young raven really dozing off on the chair and got assured that he wouldn’t neglect his task if he left now, so he gave a last word of thanks to the young artist and turned on his heels to push his way towards the front doors.  
_Who was the stranger with Tendou and what had his friend been so worked up about?_

* * *

 

 

_Who-?_

“Tendou-san, please wait!”

Satori’s eyes widened when he saw his kouhai being the one that had stopped him from leaving the festivity. Goshiki panted at the exercise of chasing after him and took a moment to cool his nerves, before staring back at him.  
Shit, I look all teary!  
Quickly bringing the white sleeve of his suit to his eyes, the crimson averted his gaze to the floor, well aware of the fact that the alpha must have seen them already.

“Let’s talk elsewhere.”

Goshiki, who hadn’t let go of his wrist yet, started walking towards the doors leading to the foyer. They left the exhibition room and took a sharp turn to the left, where a long hallway led to what seemed to be the outside.  
Despite feeling his previous panic attack linger, Satori didn’t fight back against the strong grip on his hand and the young alpha dragging him somewhere unknown. Instead, he quietly followed his kouhai and wiped his eyes with the cuff of his shirt so that he didn’t look _completely_ miserable when they arrived at their destination.  
At the very end of the long corridor, Goshiki pushed the glass door open and revealed their location. Satori inhaled the fresh, cold air and let the October breeze ruffle through his hair. Without the scents, lights and noise of the building’s interior, he immediately felt his body relax. They were standing on a terrace, enclosed by a railing made of sand stone. Given the new moon that refused to share its light with the earth, the only source of illumination were the chandeliers in the exhibition room, flooding the rough surface of the terrace outside with a warm, yellow sheen.

“Where are we?”

Satori opened his eyes and searched for the frame of his kouhai, who was standing just a few feet further away, with his back facing the crimson. The younger replied with a strange kind of consistency in his voice, much different from his usual outbursts during practice.

“This place belongs to the private area of the building..” Goshiki took a step towards the railing and rested his hands on the cold stone, refusing to meet his upperclassmen’s surprised gaze and continued, “Ah, but don’t worry. I’ve been here a few times before, so it’s not like we’ll get in trouble if someone sees us here. Just thought you might need somewhere to.. calm down.”

The omega’s heart ached when he heard the pain in his friend’s voice, as he pressed the last words out. Satori took another deep breath of the fresh air and finally felt his pulse return to normal again. He stepped next to his kouhai and also placed his hands on the railing, feeling the hard surface beneath his fingers and letting him hang on to some stability in this moment of utter discomfort. The quiet, muffled chokes to his left didn’t go by unnoticed.

“Why are you crying, Tsutomu?”

The raven rubbed his nose the with the sleeve of his jacket and hiccupped violently, before facing him with pools of tears in his eyes.

“BECAUSE, you’re going to hate me!”

Taken aback by the statement, Satori blinked in shock and tilted his head in puzzlement.

“Why should I hate you?”

“B-Because, I pushed you and didn’t give you enough time to think it over and made you uncomfortable and even though you were kind enough to help us today, I made you cry!” The crimson flushed at the last comment and averted his eyes to the trees in front of the terrace, wringing his fingers in embarrassment. Goshiki continued his emotional monologue nevertheless, “And because I’m immature and impatient, you’re going to hate me! I don’t want you to hate me, Tendou-san!”

The younger student was straight out wailing by now and Satori felt a wave of guilt wash over him. He should have told Goshiki from the start after all..

“Hey now, Tsutomu!” The crimson grabbed the other by the shoulders and stopped his gasps and chokes with the call, making him look up to his senpai with tear-rimmed eyes. “It’s not entirely your fault that I fled!”

The wing spiker sniffed his nose and asked in uncertainty “It wasn’t?”

Satori released the other’s shoulders and lowered his head.  
_I can do this.._  
_I told Semi before._  
_Tsutomu has a right to know._

Taking a deep breath, he balled his fists to his sides and started.

“I could never hate you, Tsutomu. Please remember that.” Goshiki nodded along, not daring to say anything as he noticed the shift to a much more serious topic. “I’m not opposed to the idea of entering a courtship someday, but.. I just can’t right now.”

The alpha visibly deflated for a moment and new tears started to gather in his eyes at the defeat, but the omega continued to elaborate.

“My past,” Satori made sure to lock gazes with his kouhai as he spoke on, “is not exactly what one would call _joyous_.. There’s been a point in my life when I got broken and I’m still trying to piece myself back together.” Goshiki’s face constricted to a mixture of shock and surprise, but he patiently let the crimson finish. “I can’t tell you more than that, Tsutomu. I’m thankful for your feelings and trust me, I considered your offer earnestly.. but I have to refuse your proposal for both of our sakes.”

He stepped back from the young alpha and bowed his head impossibly deep in a gesture of deep gratitude.  
Silence settled upon the two boys and only the dull chattering from the exhibition room and the rustling of the leaves in the night breeze reached their ears.  
After a sheer endless moment, Goshiki spoke up and whoever was in ten meters of ear shot, could sense the smile on his angelic face.

“Thank you, Tendou-san.” Satori raised his head and found the other look at him with sincere eyes that glistened with unshed tears. “I knew from the start that you wouldn’t take my confession lightheartedly and I’m honestly grateful that you considered me. Whatever happened in your past, I believe that you’ll find someone to overcome it with you, even though that person won’t be me..”

The omega stood straight, but lowered his eyes in apology.  
Goshiki gave a weak laugh and rubbed his eyes once more, before suddenly drawing in a sharp breath that made Satori perk up. The raven was staring over his senpai’s shoulder and a defeated smile tugged on his lips as he murmured the words: “But maybe you’ve found him already.”

The young alpha made his way towards the door and only then did the crimson notice a new presence on the terrace. He turned around in confusion and found himself in front of yet another familiar face. Goshiki’s frame disappeared as the door closed shut and the other figure panted slightly as their eyes met.

“Tendou..”

“Wakatoshi-kun?”

_What was he doing here?_

* * *

 

 

“My apologies for the interruption, but have you seen a high school student with red hair and a white suit pass by?”

Wakatoshi had asked the bartender from the bar, Hiro and him had been sitting at before, for his missing friend, but he hadn’t shared any information about the crimson to his disappointment.  
Now he had entered the foyer, where he had seen both of them disappear to before and asked a waitress, who was visibly startled by the sudden approach.  
She let her eyes dart over his appearance, before answering with eyebrows, knitted in thought.

“I think I saw an omega with red hair pass by before.. Maybe around ten minutes ago? He was with a really cute alpha.”

 _Alpha._  
Something inside the brunet snapped at the thought and he almost barked at the innocent woman in his alarmed state.

“Where did they go?”

She flinched away from his anger and blinked twice, before pointing towards a door that seemed to lead towards the private areas of the building.  
Wakatoshi immediately turned on his heels and stalked to the door, ignoring the voice of the woman behind him.  
Almost ripping the door from its hinges, he followed the long corridor and realized that whatever he was doing was absolutely intuitive behavior.  
This was not like him, getting so worked up about nothing. He saw Tendou leave the room with an alpha. Nothing dangerous about it. Maybe it was the relative of an artist? Maybe someone the crimson-haired omega knew?  
He shouldn’t feel this agitated, but his gut told him otherwise.  
The fight in the car, to which he still didn’t know the cause of, the mysterious husband of his artist who had a numerous, coincidental similarities with his friend and the panicked state he had last seen Tendou in, were enough to make him lose his cool. Something was off and Wakatoshi was certain that there were things he didn’t know yet, although a feeling inside of him told him that he should.  
Finally reaching the end of the corridor, he grabbed the handle and swung it open, prepared for anything that could await him outside.  
_Anything_ , except seeing the future ace of his volleyball team.  
Goshiki was facing him and immediately caught sight of his captain, murmuring something that the fellow alpha couldn’t understand from his spot and giving a pained smile, before passing the brunet without so much more than a glance and left the terrace.

Tendou turned around and their gazes found each other. A wave of relief washed over Wakatoshi as he saw the crimson much more relaxed than he had presumed, although the area around his eyes looked slightly swollen.

“Tendou..”

He took a step forward and got greeted by a confused “Wakatoshi-kun?”

_What now?_

Searching for the right words to explain his presence, but finding none, the alpha looked to his feet and asked what first came to his mind.

“Was that Goshiki just now?”

The middle blocker leaned backwards against the railing of sand stone and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Ah. Yeah, apparently the artist I’m assigned to is his older brother, so we met by accident.” He looked up and expectantly motioned to the space next to him, which Wakatoshi politely accepted to approach with a nod. “He’s good. Tsutomu’s brother I mean. His art is really beautiful, landscapes and portraits in pastel colors. We talked for a bit and he already knew in elementary school that he wanted to be an artist, isn’t that crazy?”

The alpha leaned backwards against the stone and their arms touched in the slightest. Neither moved away.

“Was something the matter with Goshiki? I saw the two of you leave the hall and you seemed rather.. hurried.”

Tendou’s chuckle had a hysteric ring to it and Wakatoshi frowned at his companion, as he pulled up a tense smile, along with a peace sign to prove his point.

“Haha.. No, I just needed to get some fresh air! Man, it’s really cold, right? I guess I’ll be heading inside again!”

Avoiding a certain olive gaze, the crimson headed towards the door.  
_No. Not yet._  
Before thinking his actions through, Wakatoshi’s arm reached out and grabbed Tendou by the wrist. The omega froze in his tracks immediately and looked over his shoulders with an expression, the ace couldn’t place. The crimson was holding his breath, brows pulled high, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape like a deer in the headlights. What was it? Fear? Anticipation?  
  
“For whatever happened in the car, I apologize.”

Wakatoshi let the words drop out, like stones that were thrown to the calm surface of a sea, free from any dignity or his usual calmness. He cursed inside his head, because this didn’t sound like him at all, but apparently, his mind was acting by instinct this evening. Why that was, he couldn’t understand.  
Tendou looked at him funny and after a moment of embarrassing silence, the omega turned around and faced him with a small smile.

“Wakatoshi-kun.. Do you know what made me upset?”

The ace let go of his middle blocker’s wrist and scowled at his feet in irritation, before giving a small “No.”

“I know that this might sound strange to you and you probably won’t get my point, but.. I felt betrayed back there..”

Wakatoshi watched the other fidget under the pressure of the conversation and drew his eyebrows together in confusion.

“Betrayed? Would you care to elaborate, Tendou?”

“You didn’t tell me about your acceptance on the national team. As friends, I would have liked to hear it from you. Am I pathetic for thinking that?”

The crimson searched his olive eyes in honesty and a wave of guilt swept over the athlete at the disappointed look he received. Without letting so much as a second pass by, Wakatoshi explained.

“I did not mean to offend you in any way, Tendou. When I called you on the previous Saturday, I had just read the letter myself, but I refrained from telling you over the phone, as I think it would have been an inappropriate medium to convey a message of that sort.” His friend’s face lit up at that and he continued with just as much strength in his voice than before. “Also, I only told my parents and the coaches of this, so naturally, you would have been the next to hear of it from me personally.”

Given the practically nonexistent light, Wakatoshi could only guess the red color on Tendou’s face, but he was quite sure there was a smile plastered on the omega’s features. As if by a broken spell, an invisible weight fell from the alpha’s chest and he suddenly was able to breathe a lot easier than before.

“Will you say it now? Tell me the news personally, I mean?”

The crimson fidgeted in his spot, but Wakatoshi knew exactly what he meant, so he breathed in and announced,

“Tendou, I have gotten approval to join the Japanese national volleyball team next spring.”

The incoming impact took the alpha by surprise.  
Tendou was half-tackling him backwards with his hug, slinging his arms around the ace’s neck and babbling with a wide grin on his lips.

“CONGRATULTIONS, Wakatoshi-kun! I’m so happy for you!”

Wakatoshi blinked at the unexpected contact, but quickly decided to trust his instincts in returning the hug, tightening his arms around Tendou’s waist. After letting a quiet “Thank you” roll off his tongue, they remained like this for a while. Neither was speaking and neither was making a move to break the contact.  
Despite it being October and standing outside in the cold, warmth spread in Wakatoshi’s chest as they stood in their embrace and a smile found its way on his hard, usually stern features.  
The light scent of cinnamon and cocoa filled his nostrils and a strange kind of relaxation he had never felt before smoothed the creases between his eyebrows.  
_Ah._  
_Right._  
_This was the reason for the hollowness he had felt when he read the letter for the first time._  
_With this person by his side.. Would he always feel this complete?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was.. more than I expected to write^^'  
> I really, insanely hope that I met everyone's expectations on this chapter, but I already had everything outlined weeks ago so I didn't change anything major in the end, except for a one or two details.  
> I guess this chapter had a lot of information in it, but trust me I'll get back to everything that might have confused you, as all of it was on purpose!;)  
> As most of you know, I had huge problems to actually TYPE what I had as headcanons for this evening, but believe it or not.. This chapter was really easy to type, despite it being an important plot point. The reason for that?  
> One song.  
> This whole chapter (especially the last part) was born from one single song in a mere two days.  
> Please do me a favor and listen to this masterpiece of Sayuri, called "[Mikazuki](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65BAeDpwzGY)".  
> [Here](http://www.lyrical-nonsense.com/lyrics/sayuri/mikazuki/)'s the english translation.
> 
> I'll probably need a little more time for new updates, since it's summer and Uni is quite hard on me at the moment (protocol here, presentation there,..) but my progress will be published on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/0rdinaryfangirl), so be sure to follow me there for news:)
> 
> As always, I'd be happy if you left me a comment and/or kudo for my work<3  
> See you next time!


	10. Changing (Part III)

  
“..Eita?”

The omega blinked at the low rumble behind him and craned his neck to look over his shoulder. Despite Semi’s height, he was resting on the Yamagata’s broader chest as far as the cushioned loveseat allowed cuddles on its limited space.  
“Hm? Were you saying something?”, he said absentmindedly.  
It was Saturday night, so they had gotten dinner at their favorite sushi restaurant in Shiroishi, the one near their school that served both of their favorite dishes for a reasonable price. Semi had enjoyed a large portion of his beloved Maki, filled with fatty tuna and the libero had eaten sea urchin on rice, a speciality of the house. Now they were watching a film in the alpha’s spacious room, a typical date night for both of them. Only that this wasn’t a completely ordinary day. Today, they were spending their “One year courtship anniversary” together and they should relax as much as possible before the Spring Tournament, but Semi just couldn’t concentrate for some reason. He was feeling antsy and didn’t manage to catch anything from the film up until now.  
Yamagata arched an eyebrow questioningly and obvious concern dipped from his voice.

“No, but you were looking at your phone. If the movie is boring, I can just change the channel, you know?” The libero already made to draw back his legs from either side of the blond’s frame, but Semi pressed back in response, turning his head towards the scene in front of him again, muttering.

“Don’t be uncomfortable. The film’s fine..”

The normally gruff brunet tightened his hold on the taller omega and let a few seconds tick by, listening to the background noise of the TV, before nuzzling the blond locks in front of him affectionately.  
“Want to tell me what’s worrying you?” Semi tensed at the question and looked to the phone in his lap. Yamagata could see the omega scrunching his eyebrows and rolling his bottom lip between his teeth. With a sigh, he slumped backwards.  
“You don’t have to tell me, Eita. I know that Tendou and you have that weird _“Omega telepathy”-_ thing going on and both of you live in your own little bubble sometimes”, the blond had practically whipped his head around at the mention of his red-haired friend, “but you’re trying to mother him for whatever reason. _Again_. I can see it in your expression. If you told me, maybe I could help.”  
Semi was looking outright offended at this point and adjusted his long limbs in a way that he was kneeling in between the libero’s thighs now, before drawing his eyebrows together and huffing out a breath.

“First of all, I’m not trying to _mother_ Satori” The alpha lifted an eyebrow in disbelief, to which Semi’s eyelid twitched in annoyance, but he let his courtmate continue, “and second, if I could fix this problem just by telling someone about it, I would have already made an announcement over the speakers at the school.”

The libero closed his eyes momentarily and leaned forward to grab the remote from the table. With a press of his thumb, the TV screen blackened and he could direct all of his attention on the man in front of him. Semi had crossed his arms over his chest and patiently waited for a reply. Yamagata grabbed him by the shoulders and gave a reassuring squeeze.

“You _obviously_ want to talk about it, Eita. If something’s bugging you, let me know. I don’t have to know every detail, but maybe a rough outline of the situation?”

The omega relaxed a little under the firm grip of his teammate and let out an exasperated sigh, before giving a sharp glance to the brunet. “Promise that you won’t spill it in front of Reon and _especially not_ in front of Ushijima. It would make everything worse.” The alpha nodded determinedly and Semi announced, “They’re having a date.”  
Yamagata blinked at the other with wide eyes.

“Reon and Ushijima?”

“No, you blockhead. Satori and Ushijima.”

The shorter man gaped at that, opening and closing his mouth like a fish, before he could whisper a shocked “..When?”

“Literally _right now_.”

To that, the alpha couldn’t not choke on his own spit. He violently cleared his throat into his hand and looked up into Semi’s unimpressed face, rasping out with the beginnings of tears in his eyes, “..You’re kidding.”

“Am not. But you can’t tell anyone. I don’t even think either of _them_ knows.” The libero furrowed his eyebrows and let his hands drop from the other’s shoulders, relieved that this didn’t seem to be a big deal.

“And why are you so antsy then? I mean, isn’t them having some alone time good?”

Semi frowned down at the phone in his hands, lighting up the screen to see the _No notifications_ banner, before nibbling on his bottom lip again.

“Yeah.. that’s what I thought too. But I just can’t shake the feeling that he could call me any moment, because something went wrong. I don’t know.. it’s a gut thing.”

The libero let out a snort into his fist, making the blond’s head snap up in irritation.

“You worry too much, _team mom_. The creases between your brows have deepened again. Take a break from time to time, would you?”

The pinch server pouted in mock offense at the all too familiar nickname, giving his smirking courtmate a playful punch to the left shoulder.

“Shut up. You’ll shrink further if you make fun of me like that. Karma is a bitch, you know?”

Yamagata barked out a laugh and rubbed the spot on his shoulder half-heartedly. Semi knew that the alpha’s height wasn’t exactly a sore point, but the five centimeters difference bugged the libero just enough to tease him from time to time. With another sigh, the blond slumped to the side, squishing his cheek on his courtmate’s bent knee, until their eyes met once more. The brunet smiled one of his rare smiles and Semi could definitely stare at that slight quirk of lips for _hours_ , because it was a sight that was mostly reserved for his eyes, but the concern about his best friend gnawed on his insides silently.

“Don’t worry so much about him, Eita. Tendou is old enough to take care of himself and whatever it is that you think might pose as danger for him, Ushijima would not let him get hurt. Despite the possibility of having feelings for one another, their friendship is as solid as a rock.”

Semi narrowed his eyes in disbelief, not giving any response to the other’s point at first, to which Yamagata rolled his eyes and moaned. “What is it now?”

“You know, when I first met you, I thought that you were glaring at everyone and that you were a thug. As time passed, I learned that that was actually just your normal expression. You know, the _slanted eyes, hands in pockets, frown in place_ -kind of guy. The first impression I got from you was short-tempered, permanently angry, unsociable and a muscle-head, but,” The libero scowled in annoyance at the characterization, but Semi continued with a tiny, affectionate smile. “I’ve never been so wrong in my life.”  
At that, Yamagata flushed from his chest to the tips of his ears, blinking quickly, as he was not used to getting compliments from Semi out of the blue. Their relationship had started off with a lot of tiptoeing around each other, shy glances in the lunch break or light touches on their way home. The quick pecks had always been innocent, as neither of them was into PDA and they had only recently started scenting the other. Given the prestige of their team, they had agreed on not causing scenes during practice and therefore had mostly kept their courtship a private matter.  
That’s why they enjoyed evenings like this, where they didn’t feel the need to conceal their relationship.  
Semi tilted his head to the side, making his wavy, blond hair, save for the ashen-colored tips fall to his forehead and blinked at the blushing alpha with his large, walnut-colored eyes.

 _You’re beautiful._  
I wasn’t until the omega’s eyes widened in surprise and freckles of red appeared on his pale cheeks that Yamagata Hayato, 18 years of age, realized that he had in fact not just thought, but also _voiced_ his obvious attraction towards his team mate.  
As if struck by a bolt, the brunet clamped a hand over his mouth and the blinking intensified yet again. Semi sat there, cheeks red, but absolutely amused by the spectacle of seeing his courtmate fumble with his words.

“Oh, _shit_. I didn’t mean to say that. Not like it’s not true, but.. uhm.. y’know..!”

The libero’s eyes darted anywhere but Semi and if he could, he would turn on the AC, because suddenly it was way too hot in the room and fuck, the omega was sitting in between his knees do he couldn’t flee and why the _fuck_ was he giving him that shit eating grin anyway?  
Before Yamagata could make himself look even more like an idiot, he felt a pair of soft, warm lips against his and well, who didn’t need a heart attack from time to time?  
Semi leaned backwards and smiled that gorgeous smile that the alpha had fallen for over a year ago, murmuring a quiet “Thank you, Hayato.”  
Unable to form a coherent sentence after the suddenness of the kiss, he closed his thick arms behind the omega’s waist and pulled him to his chest, hiding his red face in the other’s blond fluff, giving a mere grunt in response. They laid there for a while, Semi chuckling softly at the endearing behavior of his courtmate and remembering that the compliment wasn’t the only thing he had thanked the libero for. He now also felt a lot more relaxed about the matter concerning his best friend. He really hoped that everything went well with their awkward team captain.  
The intriguing sound of vibration popped their bubble of intimacy and the omega turned the item in his hands towards him, before he could register the kanji written on the display. Alarmed by the sudden shift in atmosphere, Yamagata held his breath as he saw Semi’s eyes widen in shock.

“It’s Satori.”  
  


* * *

 

  
“Yo! Satori-kun!”

 _Thank you, Yatogami, oh dear lord and savior of the poor, for making Goshiki’s brother stop calling me ‘Crush-kun’.  
_ After sending a silent prayer to the sky, Satori turned around and caught sight of the taller version of his kouhai, who looked a little more disheveled in comparison to the beginning of the evening, but still wearing that million-watt smile that seemed to be contagious, given the grin tugging on his own lips.

“Could you get this _lovely_ and _young_ lady one of my business cards, please?” Goshiki Kyo motioned to a fourty year old woman, who had definitely used too much powder and winked charmingly at the female costumer that seemed to be about to break ties with her husband if the raven continued to beam at her like that. Even under the thick layer of her white powder, Satori could see her flushed cheeks and she was fanning her face with a hand, as if the AC wasn’t on already.  
_Good gods, he doesn’t only paint well, but can also make the ladies swoon._  
The crimson chuckled as he fished for another card with the watermark and contact information of _Kyoshigo_ in the artist’s bag and handed it to him with a smile. The beta male returned the sentiment and shook the lady’s hand a last time, before she shuffled through the slowly dissolving crowd with her head obviously in the clouds.  
“You’re doing a good job, you know that?” Satori found the raven smirking, dark eyes wandering over the mass of people that had lessened in number over the past hour, since the vernissage was coming to an end slowly but surely. The younger Goshiki had left for a phone call earlier, apparently from a classmate, concerning a project they were working on for their social studies class. The artist continued with arms crossed over his chest, sleeves rolled up to the elbows, giving off a mature impression. “I can’t believe that you’re doing it for the first time and even stepped in for somebody else. Have you been to events like this before?”  
The omega blinked slowly, observing the sea of colors in front of him. Classical music was playing in the background of the enormous room, sometimes even a few more modern pieces that one could actually move their feet to. A few private photographers here and there, obnoxiously loud laughter from small groups of people and sounds of glasses clinking together at every corner. It was like a movie scene. It was interesting for sure, but also utterly new.  
Satori shook his head after a while, rocking back and forth on the heels of his shoes.

“Nah, I guess I’m not much of a _public-presence_ kind of person. I prefer working indoors and I was a little overwhelmed in the beginning, but this is a good experience I guess.”

Kyo snorted into his fist, raising his other arm to motion in the direction of the crowd.  
“Yeah, sometimes it’s nerve-wrecking to deal with these kinds of costumers. You have an interesting character, Satori-kun. Reliable, funny, cheerful, but also sarcastic from time to time. I can see why my brother has taken a liking to you.” Almost immediately, Satori’s expression gloomed. He felt a wave of guilt break down over him, just as he received a reassuring bump to his shoulder from the dark-haired beta, who shot him a warm glance, paired with a half-smile. “Hey, no need to feel depressed. Tsutomu really respects you and that’s the reason why things won’t become awkward between you two.”

The student snapped his head up and his eyes widened in shock.  
"How did you know that I-..?”

“Brother’s intuition. You’re a great person, but you’re not the one for him. I think that he’s also realized that by now. Also, you give off the impression that there’s already someone you have laid your eyes on, no?”

Taken aback by the sudden question, Satori jerked backwards and silently hoped that his cheeks weren’t the shame shape of scarlet as his hair like he suspected. Heart in his throat, he violently waved a hand in front of him, eyes darting to the crowd again.  
“Uhm! No. I mean yes.. It’s just.. uh.. It kind of feels nice to be with him.. _Them_! Not a man specifically, no. Not at all. But if it were.. just theoretically speaking.. that person wouldn’t consider me! He’s the kind of person who can come to these events and not feel out of place, y’know?” Satori brought a hand to his head, messing up his hairstyle a bit. “Argh, It’s kind of complicated..”

The artist raised an incredulous eyebrow at his embarrassing ramble, but didn’t press the matter further, responding with a noncommittal grunt, before yet another elderly couple approached the display of art by him. Still, before getting back to his actual job, the raven didn’t miss to mutter a few words of encouragement as he turned around.  
“Why not let the other person decide whether you’re in their league or not, hm?”

Satori blinked surprised at the message and stared at the back of beta, who was now all professional smiles and polite handshakes again, before a grip on his shoulder startled him out of his thoughts.  
“Uhm! Sorry, Tendou-san!” As he turned around he saw his kouhai raising his hands in apology, wide, midnight-blue eyes blinking up at him. “This is really unfortunate but, It’s just.. There’s a textbook my classmate needs for our project and it’s at my home, but Nii-san still needs help, so I-.. uhm..”

Clearly uncomfortable with the situation, the wing spiker averted his doe eyes to the marvel floor, not quite voicing his intention, but getting it across nonetheless. The crimson smiled understandingly and gave a reassuring smile in response.  
“Go. It’s okay, I think I can manage the last few things on my own. Your assignment is more important!” The alpha raised his hopeful gaze at him and nodded vigorously, before jogging off to inform his older brother of his ensuing absence with a last “Thank you, Tendou-san” over his shoulder.  
Satori let out a breath of relief and relaxed in his posture. Throughout the past two hours, Goshiki hadn’t acted differently around him, given the earlier confrontation on the terrace. The crimson caught him staring into space gloomily at one point, but as soon as he addressed him to hand over one of the folders with pictures of further pieces, his kouhai had whipped out yet another of his innocent masks that mirrored sheer excitement and joy to cover up for the sadness of the previous rejection.  
Omega or not, Satori felt guilty for being the cause of the other’s pain, but it was the only right thing to do and that’s why he suspected the raven to get over it eventually.  
After seeing the teen exchanging a few words with his brother and disappearing towards the entrance, calling out a “See you on Monday, Tendou-san!!” to which Satori could give a cheerful wave in response, he pulled his phone out of the pocket of the white slacks and checked the time.  
**22:40pm**.  
In twenty minutes, another staff would take over his place and help the artist remove his paintings from the wall and pack his belongings up and into the van. The evening would come to an end..  
A dorky grin spread on his pale features and the tingling sensation in the fingertips of his long fingers reached up to his neck.  
He had risked it. He had literally thrown himself at Ushijima, well aware of the fact that he could have received a classic reaction like “Are you unwell, Tendou? Should I call for help?” or “If the temperature is too low and you feel cold, should I get your coat for you?” or his favorite “Did you trip over an unevenness in the tiles? We should inform somebody to get it repaired in order to avoid situations like these in the future.”  
Nope, that wouldn’t have ripped him of his last speck of courage. Not at all.  
Only that he wasn't rejected.  
The stoic mountain of muscle and bone had actually _reciprocated_ the embrace if the arms around his own, slim waist were anything to go by.  
Just the memory of the warmth he had felt in those strong arms made Satori feel giddy and the lazy grin on his face stretched even further.  
Just a few minutes ago, he had told Kyo that he didn’t have a chance with Ushijima.  
But what if he did? What if for some unknown reason, in the bizarre world they were living in, where the crimson hopefully wasn’t carrying a tumor in his head that made him hallucinate things, there was a teeny-tiny bit of hope that the alpha liked him back?  
What if Semi and his mother had been right all along? Even if he tried to suffocate it with all his might this past year, the seed of hope in his chest was sprouting. Hopefully, his senses weren’t fooling him.

The last minutes went by without any major incidents. The guests left the large hall in small groups, slightly tipsy, or just simply content with their purchases as Satori exchanged a few more words with the older Goshiki. Despite having his doubts earlier, attending this event today had been a good decision. He had gained valuable experience, as his prioritized job at a publishing house might embody public relations work and what better practice could there be than attending a vernissage? Light-headed from the good job he had done, the omega almost didn’t notice another person approaching him.  
“Satori-kun!” The crimson turned at the call and his face immediately lit up in a fond smile.  
“My feet are killing me,” the eldest Ushijima passed him and took a seat on the empty chair he had occupied for part of the evening, stretching out her legs that were covered by her delicate yukata, before smiling up at him, “How are you holding up?”  
The student was surprised to see her aging features not mirroring her obvious exhaustion in the least. Her dark eyes still looked cheerful and her make-up was still in place, as if they had arrived here only a few minutes ago. She really was a remarkable woman. The way she handled the obnoxious women in the foyer earlier, all brazen while still upholding the authority and grace of her prestigious household, the adoring looks she gives her socially backward grandson, the cheerfulness in her voice when she talks about something that excites her, such as the places she used to visit in her youth or the audacity some of the past Ushijima heirs had possessed when they wanted to seal an important deal. All those little things made Satori feel like she was a unique personality. Ushijima Chiyo blend in perfectly during an event like this, shaking hands, giving compliments, chuckling with her fingertips touching her lips, but at the same time, she stood out in a way that only a perosn of the middle class like Satori could understand. The secret glances she threw him when someone handed her another flute of champagne and complimented her attire when she had obviously no interest in entering a conversation. The extra bits of mayonnaise she snatched from the silverware earlier, when she thought no one was looking. She made it seem so easy.. It made him wonder, what kind of person her deceased husband might have been. In the car, Chiyo had mentioned that they would have gotten along well, but Satori had no idea in what way they could have possibly been alike.  
He couldn’t mull over the thought any longer, when Kyo placed a hand on his shoulder to snap him out of his thoughts. “Geez, Satori-kun! I leave you alone for a minute and you snatch away such a beautiful lady, before I could even greet her?” The artist bowed slightly at the sitting woman, who seemed all so pleased with the compliment, a knowing smile curving up her lips. “Kyoshigo-san, it’s been a while. I’ve seen your work at an exhibition in Sendai last year and purchased a beautiful piece at that time. It depicted Mt. Zao in a wonderful composition of greens and blues. Ah, but you probably don’t remember that. ” The beta male mirrored the expression and held out a hand, which the elderly woman shook gladly. “As if I could forget you, Ushijima-san. The cheekiest clients I always remember,” he said with a wink. Astonished by the unexpected acquaintance, Satori stepped aside to let them chatter about how Kyo’s brushwork had become better in the past year and how his clients got more and more pretentious with every piece he presented. They seemed absorbed in their own conversation and therefore, the omega politely stepped aside to scoop up their used bottles and torn wrappings of the snacks he had acquired from the bar earlier.  
Thankfully, the crowd had almost dissipated at this point and only a few guests remained in the large hall. He could see several artists carefully enveloping their sculptures in bubble wrap, or sliding paintings in their respective cases.  He had had his troubles in the beginning, but all in all it had been an evening full of newfound knowledge and _surprises._ His face involuntarily heated up when he recalled the earlier scene on the terrace, when there was a strong pair of deliciously thick arms--  
“How did you like it?”  
The crimson jerked out of his dangerous daydream and turned around at the sound of the voice to find himself confronted with the modernly clothed woman he had only met once before. “Kazue-san”, he greeted her with an embarrassed smile.  
The beta stopped in front of him, hands clasped together in front of her and she started with a slight tilt of her head, “You seemed deep in thought, I hope I didn’t interrupt it?” _Thank god, you did._ The middle blocker vigorously shook his head as he felt the blood rise to his cheeks again, making one of his red strands fall to his vision. Visibly relieved by the gesture, the raven let her tense shoulders relax and parted her red lips to exhale a sigh.  “I know I’ve said this before, but thank you so much for helping me out today, Tendou-kun. The evening was a great success and I already received word of mouth that many artists were able to get hold of important clients.” The slight quirk of her lips that seemed to express a smile made the omega’s eyes grow wide in unsuspected delight. Their smiles were _exactly_ the same. The smartly dressed woman furrowed her neatly plucked eyebrows and upon taking a closer look, even that expression resembled her son’s. “I believe you could have spent your Saturday night with much more attractive activities,” _Embracing your son was plenty attractive, thank you very much._  
Woah, he really had to bite back that one.  
“But I hope that you didn’t feel all too overwhelmed.” Satori’s chest grew warm at the kind words and once again, he shook his head. “No, I should thank you for inviting me, Kazue-san. It has been a great experience and I had a lot of fun.” He had been nervous during their first encounter, but now Satori could look at the woman properly. She was quite a bit shorter than him and had a slim build, narrow shoulders and slender legs. Her skin was fair like porcelain, much like her mother’s and her eyes almond-shaped, anthracite in color. Her dark hair reached down to her chin, stylishly parted to both sides and her cheekbones sat high on her features. The professional aura of authority only a business woman of prestige could acquire didn’t scare the student off, instead he inwardly pointed out any resemblances she shared with her son. The strong jawline, the straight posture they permanently both seemed to maintain, the slight quirk of lips that only friends could identify as a smile.. Ushijima Wakatoshi and his mother had more in common than most people might suspect at first glance.  
“Is there anything else I could assist with, mother?”  
Satori registered the sudden rumble from behind him and both of them turned to see the young alpha approach with the ever-apparent expression that seemed blank of any emotion. The omega felt his heart miss a beat when their eyes met, but thankfully, Kazue interjected before anything embarrassing could unfold between the two.  
“No, but thank you. I’ll leave the rest to my employees.” Her son nodded in response. Satori picked a thread from his jacket to have something to look at. “Has Kaori already left, Wakatoshi?” She looked at the crimson with her dark gaze as she explained, “She was the artist I assigned Wakatoshi to. Young and very talented.” Ushijima answered his mother without delay. “Yes, she left a while ago with her family.” At the last part, the ace curtly flicked his green eyes towards Satori. The omega didn’t know why. Before he could question his classmate, a fourth person chimed in their conversation.  
  
“Can you pair your next funding with a banquet, dear? Eating these canapés made my stomach growl even more!”  
The trio turned towards the elderly woman that approached them, wearing a displeased frown. Chiyo had apparently finished her conversation with the older Goshiki and was now giving a pointed look towards her daughter. “Kazue, not everyone is satisfied with two stripes of salmon and a single olive toothpick. Can we get something to eat on our way home?”  
Satori covered up his snort with a cough at the borderline whiny tone the woman used and apparently, he wasn’t the only one who picked up on the complaint. The younger beta woman massaged the bridge of her nose with an exasperated sigh.  
“Mother, and I believe not everyone wants to eat a _whole meal_ before evaluating art..”  
Chiyo crossed her arms over her chest and sent a disapproving look towards the host of the evening. “I bet Satori-kun and Wakatoshi are hungry too. Look at them, they’re growing boys!” The crimson blinked at his sudden inclusion and rubbed his neck sheepishly, “Uh.. I’ll warm something up at home, no need to go out of your way to—“  
  
“ _Wakatoshi_ , are you hungry?” Chiyo turned to her grandson, who gave a nod. “Now that you mention it, I indeed feel a slight—“  
  
“ _Great!_ With that said, let’s leave this place. You finished your work here right?”  
  
Kazue pressed her fingers to her temple and gave a defeated sigh. A triumphant smile bloomed on the eldest Ushijima’s face and Satori giggled behind his hand. The alpha stayed apathetic to the exchange, presumably not following if the crease between his eyebrows was anything to go by. Classic Wakatoshi.  
The group said their farewells to the remaining guests, Satori hurrying to catch Goshiki’s older brother before he left and returned to the foyer with one of Kyoshigo’s business cards if he “ _ever decided to purchase one of his pieces”_ , with a special discount of course.  
Ushijima already waited with his coat at the front doors and the omega accepted it with short words of thanks. The women joined them in their departure and they exited the building to get greeted by the unforgiving chill, late October brought by.  
As they made their way towards the sleek car that had already been driven up, Kazue cleared her throat and started sarcastically, “And what kind of _establishment_ do you have in mind, mother?” Satori could basically _feel_ Chiyo rolling her eyes next to him, “I certainly do not want to suffer from food poisoning or get robbed, just because you want to have a meal after 11:00pm.”  
The grandmother let go of the omega student’s arm and started bickering with her daughter, when their driver greeted them with a bow. Ushijima apparently was already used to the harmless discrepancies between his close relatives, as he didn’t pay their exchange much mind, instead greeting their driver with a noncommittal nod. Satori on the other hand felt uncomfortable with the situation and carefully interjected the exchange of the two beta women with a neutral comment of his own. “I don’t mean to pry, but maybe I can help?”  
Surprised by the intermission, all three of the Ushijima’s turned to him and he continued, “that is, if I knew where we were..”  
They didn’t seem to expect a suggestion, since they looked equally puzzled, only blinking. A few seconds ticked by without any answer and the omega was about to give up, when someone spoke.  
“Ogawara.” It was the driver. “We’re in Ogawara. This is the hotel, right next to the district court.”  
  
“Wait.. Nakagawara? Right next to the river?”  
  
“Yes, sir.”  
  
“Great, drive as to Minami then!”  
  
 “As you wish, Satori-sama.”  
  
“ _Geh._ Please drop the _–sama_.”  
  
The man smiled and bowed once more before retreating towards the driver’s seat, leaving the middle blocker to explain the previous exchange. He rubbed his neck and grinned sheepishly at the speechless trio. “Uh, I know a family restaurant there. It is open twenty-four hours a day, six days in the week. We don’t have to worry about food poisoning or robbery there.” Kazue crooked a smile at that and so did her mother. His classmate on the other hand only stood there, quiet and void of any emotion (not that that was new) and it wasn’t long before they all sat in the car again, on their way to a place Satori wanted to stop by again for a long time anyway.  
  


* * *

 

  
Wakatoshi had never been to a family restaurant before and therefore didn’t know what to expect. He certainly didn’t picture his companion practically bolting through the doors of the warmly lit place, shouting a loud “ _Auntie!_ ” Even less did he expect the stout woman behind the counter to almost leap over the counter shouting back “ _Sacchan!_ ”, after a moment of recognition. His mother and grandmother entered the establishment after he held them the door open and the three of them were equally overwhelmed by the scene, although the eldest was wearing an amused smile.  
“Wakatoshi-kun! Don’t just stand there!” Tendou was waving at him from the counter, a big smile on his face, maybe the biggest smile he had seen this evening, so naturally the alpha followed suit. The stout omega woman his friend had greeted so vigorously, seemed to be in her fifties, with kind eyes and a round face, framed by strands of inky hair that had fallen from the bun at the back of her head. She was smirking up at him, but Wakatoshi felt strangely pressured by the strange glint in her eyes.  
“And who you might you be, hm?”  
Before the alpha could introduce himself properly like he initially planned to, his friend already started rambling with a beaming expression. “This is Ushijima Wakatoshi, Auntie! He’s the ace and captain of our volleyball team. He’s _crazy_ good! You won’t believe it, but he’s left-handed! I dubbed him Miracle Boy, because he always knows exactly just how hard to spike the ball so that it’ll go through,” The crimson made a spiking hand motion and pointed to his palm afterwards. “The first time I blocked him, my hand wouldn’t hurt for an _hour_. It was as red as my hair, no kidding!”  
The woman behind the counter chuckled fondly at the characterization and Wakatoshi didn’t know what to make of it. The omega student hadn’t told any untruth, but still, something about the frivolous introduction tugged at his chest in a not entirely unpleasant way. As she turned towards the ace again, he didn’t know what to say in addition, so he settled for a polite bow, accompanied by an “It is nice to meet you.”  
“Likewise. You’re welcome to call me Auntie by the way. Every friend of Sacchan is a friend of mine.” The female omega emitted a soothing aura and Wakatoshi felt his tense shoulders relax a little at the display of kindness. He nodded in response.  
  
“I haven’t seen you in what, two years? How’ve you been? And my, why do you look so elegant today? You would have told me if you got married, no?” She wiggled her eyebrows at the last remark and apparently it had some kind of implication, as Tendou appeared to be visibly flustered, heat rising to his cheeks. “ _Auntie.._ I’m in high school. Please pester my sister with questions like that.”  
  
“No excuse! I was only eighteen when I got married, Satori-kun.”  
Wakatoshi turned to their other companions and found his grandmother smirking, while his mother pressed a thump to her temple, seemingly developing yet another migraine. Had he missed something?  
Tendou groaned overdramatically and the others started laughing. “Tendou-kun helped our family with an event we were funding and we were a little short on catering, therefore I hope you don’t mind us stopping by.” His mother lowered her head apologetically to the owner of the restaurant, who seemed taken aback by the gesture.  
“Oh, please! No need to explain yourself, ma’am. I’m actually a little embarrassed to have such delicately dressed costumers facing me for once. Make yourself at home!” She hastily smoothed the wrinkles over her work uniform, which was occasionally flecked with sauce and a little tattered at the seams. It was obvious that she had worked here for a long time.  
At the delicious smell wafting from the kitchen that was located beyond the counter, a low rumble from beneath his dark jacket caught their attention. He hadn’t lied earlier, the few amuse bouche they had had at the vernissage, didn’t sate his appetite in the least, so it was only natural that he was still hungry at this hour. Tendou giggled into his hand and turned to the acquainted worker. “Kitchen’s still open right?” The fellow omega nodded and the crimson thumped upwards to a list of possible meals, directing his attention to the Ushijima’s, “Everything here tastes good. I’ve come here with my family for a decade and we’ve never been disappointed, so feel free to order whatever you like, ah, but don’t casually pick the chili con carne if you cherish the ability of your taste buds, it _is_ crazy spicy.”  
Nodding in acknowledgment, his mother and grandmother studied the menu deep in thought and Wakatoshi faintly picked up bits of the conversation Tendou was having with the woman about _“how he couldn’t drink anything besides water for days”_ and _“why he had even ordered it back then_ ”. He would have like to listen some more, but he had his own decision to make. If he was honest, he preferred cooking over being cooked for. He didn’t like ordering food at restaurants. In restaurants, there was no specification about the amount of calories in one dish, which was important since he was an athlete and shouldn’t eat an unhealthy amount of carbohydrates. He didn’t know which size to order, as he could make the mistake of ordering too few or too much and while ordering more wouldn’t have any negative effect on his physical condition, he hated wasting resources. He also didn’t know what tasted best, because despite his teammate assuring them of the quality of the food, there was no proof that Wakatoshi liked what he would find on his plate later.  
  
“Tough time choosing?”  
The alpha found the crimson staring at him with a tilted head and an expectant expression. Wakatoshi had probably looked troubled in his decision making, because Tendou smiled at him in a mixture of sympathy and amusement. “Want me to choose for you?”  
The alpha contemplated the thought. He often ate lunch with the omega and as a fellow team member he knew that Wakatoshi couldn’t just eat anything whenever he wanted. He was also familiar with the menu, so the answer was found rather quickly. He gave a nod, “Please.”  
The woman behind the counter, who had already acknowledged his mother’s and grandmother’s orders beamed when Tendou came up to her. “The usual for you, Sacchan?”  
“Yup! Also Nr. 5 from the secret menu.” Wakatoshi frowned. _What was a secret menu?_ Before he could ask, the middle blocker already listed the changes he would like to have made, “But please use yoghurt dressing instead of french, chicken smoked not fried and no onions. Also wholemeal bread and a bottle of water without gas.”  
With a consecutive nods, she jutted down the precise wishes and turned towards the kitchen, calling “Take a seat, I’ll call you when it’s finished” over her shoulder. So they did just that.  
Wakatoshi examined the restaurant as they headed for a booth at the windows and noticed that he found the interior quite pleasant. The front of the establishment was completely glass-clad with a row of red faux-leather booths varying from two-person pieces to longer tables, where up to eight people could take a seat. The room had parquet flooring and the tables were made of beech in a similar shade. The potted plants, white trefoil apparently, were placed on each table, a small, red table runner underneath. It was comfortable and intimate. He could see where the term ‘family restaurant’ came from. As they sat down at a four person table, the alpha could only see one more guest, a man at the far end of the room with a cup of coffee in front of him and a messily folded newspaper in his lap. Still, Wakatoshi could easily imagine this business booming at daytime. Students, neighborhood mothers, businessmen and young families with their children all the same. He slid into the seat next to Tendou, after taking off his coat.  
“Have I troubled your acquaintance with my unreasonable order?”  
  
The crimson shot him a grin and shook his head. He noticed the red swiveling in front of the omega’s forehead. _A few strands aren’t in place anymore._  
  
“Don’t worry, she’s used to it. My sister is lactose-intolerant _and_ a vegetarian. Auntie has received orders much worse than that.”  
  
Wakatoshi hummed in response, but apparently the answer piqued the interest of his other relatives, as his mother raised an eyebrow and his grandmother leaned forward on the table. “How did you know this place anyway, Satori-kun? You said that you’ve come here with your family?” Tendou nodded and started elaborating, “Auntie’s daughter was a classmate of my sister. They went to middle and high school here in Ogawara, that’s why we came here a lot when I was younger.”  
  
“You said that have an older sister? Does she resemble you?” Tendou laughed at that. “In some points yes. When people see us together, they know immediately that we’re related. Her hair is the same color and she’s almost as tall as me.”  The alpha found himself listening intently. He had seen pictures, but he had never met the person of question. “Personality-wise, we’re quite different. She was always a lot more outgoing than me.”  
This time, his mother contributed to the conversation. “I think you’re plenty outgoing, Tendou-kun.” Wakatoshi inwardly agreed with her. The first impression he had gotten from Tendou back in their first year was a talkative, determined omega that seemed to make friends easily. After all, he had been the first to speak to the alpha with such unrestrained cheekiness and sarcasm that Wakatoshi suspected him to have had a number of friends in the past, unlike himself, who had been utterly inexpert with social interaction since his kindergarten days.  
The alpha side-eyed his friend, interested in his reaction to the question. Tendou was wearing a smile, but it didn’t seem to reach his eyes, since the usual crinkle there was missing. The pale fingers in his lap fisted the white fabric beneath the table top. He chuckled in a fashion, Wakatoshi couldn’t place. The air tasted bitter as the alpha inhaled. Tendou's scent had changed since the last remark and Wakatoshi was surprised that he could point out the faint difference. It smelled of.. _distress?_  
  
“Ah, you think so?”  
That was all the answer they got. The crimson managed to direct the topic to something else, his mother’s job apparently. Wakatoshi relaxed when he felt the air shift back to normalcy again and so did Tendou's mood apparently. _The crinkle is there._  
He also didn’t often see the beta woman talk so openly about her profession, but she seemed to enjoy telling his classmate about it, if her positive expression and the movement in her eyes were anything to go by. Wakatoshi could relate to her. It was surprisingly easy to fall into conversation with Tendou. He always knew a fun answer to everything, possessed the ability to keep an exchange going, or which questions to ask. He also knew when he touched a sensitive topic and immediately started to phrase his responses more carefully should that situation occur, a characteristic the alpha would probably never acquire. Still, he was friends with this person and that was enough.  
  
“Sacchan! Your order’s up!”  
“Yeees!”  
  
Lost in his thoughts, the ace didn’t notice the minutes tick by. In front of him was sitting a tray loaded with a large plate of what seemed to be a green salad, garnished with smoked chicken stripes and bell pepper, pine nuts and a fan of apple slices on both sides. The dressing seemed light on calories, a simple yoghurt one. Also there was saucer with four pieces of wholemeal bread and a bottle of water without gas, as Wakatoshi couldn’t stand the airy sensation of swallowing of carbon dioxide when he drank.  
He blinked down at his meal, before raising his gaze to get greeted by Tendou’s expectant expression. “Is this okay?”  
Wakatoshi picked up the fork from his tray and poked into a stripe of chicken with a piece salad underneath. He chewed carefully and swallowed, before lowering the fork to the plate again and turning to his still waiting friend. The smile pulling at his lips came surprisingly easy for his standards, “It’s delicious.”  
Satisfied with the answer, the omega beamed at him and turned to his own food that seemed to be a combination of Japanese and Western cuisine of some sort. Wakatoshi could recognize potato mash, peas and a hamburger steak, but the brown cluster of different sauces smelled like mixture of teriyaki and ketchup. The crimson moaned around the first mouthful of whatever he was eating and scooped up the next load on his fork with a content expression, when he felt the alpha’s gaze on him. Blinking owlishly and with some of the brown jus dripping from his chin, he asked, “What?”  
A low chuckle formed in the alpha’s throat and almost reflexively, he reached for the napkin on his tray, before shifting his torso towards the other. Without giving the gesture much thought, he brought his hand up to his team mate’s face and wiped the specks of sauce from Tendou’s chin.  The task would have posed to be much more difficult if Tendou decided to move around, but apparently he held stock still until Wakatoshi was done. Satisfied with the result, the alpha moved away and met the other’s widened eyes. His cheeks were flushed and.. was he even breathing?  
The ace’s expression gloomed. He hoped that he hadn’t overstepped any boundaries with the help he provided just now.  
“You had some sauce on your chin”, he explained, to which he got no reaction.  
Maybe he should have offered his help beforehand, or at least he should have pointed it out towards the crimson, so that he could make the decision whether to get rid of it by himself.  
After a few seconds of awkward silence, the omega seemed to snap out of his daze, blinking rapidly and averting his red gaze to his own plate, stammering a barely audible “ _Ah_.. haha.. Thank you.”  
Wakatoshi’s confusion lingered, especially since Tendou decided to eat the rest of his meal in silence and when the alpha checked on the other residents of the table, he found them purposefully looking to their plate or out of the window. He had missed something again, hadn’t he?  
The salad had been exactly to his taste and the remaining food his relatives had ordered looked equally as good, a club sandwich for his mother and a bowl of miso soup with traditional side dishes for his grandmother. He wanted to try whatever his classmate was having, but refrained from asking, as it might have worsened the situation to his chagrin. Maybe they could come here again.  
  
“Thank you for the food”, they chorused when their plates and glasses were empty. When Tendou made to clean up their empty dishes, Wakatoshi stopped him with a hand on his forearm. “Let me take care of that.”  
The crimson only gave an affirmative hum before looking to the table top, plopping down in his seat again and letting the alpha carry the tray of porcelain back to the counter. The omega woman greeted him with a bright expression, “How was it?”  
“It was very delicious, thank you.” She took the dishes and made to turn around, just as Wakatoshi produced his wallet from the slacks, “Do you accept EC-cards?”  
The raven appeared to be surprised by the question, slowly blinking, before she shook her head with a chuckle, “Thanks honey, but I put it on Sacchan’s tab. Ah, also here’s what he ordered extra.”  
She pushed two brown paper bags over the counter, the brunet accepted them.  
“I.. do not understand?”  
  
“Satori paid already.”  
  
The alpha frowned at that. Tendou had no reason to treat them to a meal. If anyone should do that it was Wakatoshi, who had asked for the other’s company in the first place. He should question the crimson later and insist to repay him. As he turned on his heel, the owner called out to him once more.  
 “See you next time and”, he looked over his shoulder to see the woman give him a meaningful smile, “Take good care of Satori.”  
As captain and ace of the volleyball team, he would obviously make sure that Tendou was in top form, so he didn’t quite understand the full meaning of the question. Nevertheless, he answered with an assuring “I will”.  
The others were already waiting at the front doors of the restaurant, dressed in their coats and Wakatoshi heard another “Sacchan! Don’t forget to bring Succhan and your mom next time!”, to which the crimson responded with a cheerful “Will do! Take care, Auntie!”  
They waved goodbye, before heading towards the car. It was past midnight already and surely he would have to make up for the two hours of training he lost today, but despite that, the evening had been pleasant. There were some things he still didn’t know, like the man at Arakawa-san’s side that still stirred something akin to worry in his gut, or how impulsive and unlikely he had acted more than once today, but for now he decided that his knowledge would suffice.  
They sat in the car and the heavy atmosphere from before seemed to have dissipated, as his mother thanked the crimson once more for his participation and his grandmother complimented him on his attire once more, which the other of course mirrored. The ride back to their neighborhood was filled with small talk and even Wakatoshi contributed to the conversations at some point, which the others welcomed happily. It wasn’t long until the car stopped and the small window connecting to the driver’s cabin opened a chink.  
“We’ve arrived at Satori-sama’s house.”  
  
Tendou gave polite words of farewell to the Ushijima’s and handed one of the paper bags to the driver as he got out of the vehicle, going on about “how good the French fries were” and how he should just accept them, which he did after a short discussion, very much flustered at the unconventional gesture of the passenger. Wakatoshi hadn’t moved from his seat, but the pointed stares he received from the women across from him, made the alpha comply to follow his team mate out of the car.  
Apparently that had been a good decision, since only five minutes later, he returned with a rare kind of smile, even his relatives couldn’t place.  
  


* * *

  
After letting the door shut close behind him, Satori carefully toed off his shoes and hung the grey coat over the racket, trying to create as little noise as possible. Padding into the kitchen, he wrote a note to his mother saying, “ _Got_ _you food from Auntie’s \\(^-^)/_ ”, before placing the paper bag along with the note into the fridge.  
Careful not to wake his mother, the crimson walked up the stairs and slid out of the expensive, white suit, putting it up on a hanger. He took a quick shower and dried his hair half-heartedly, as he tiredly slumped down on his bed, legs bent underneath his frame in a fashion only he could find comfortable, phone already in hand.  
He pressed the button reflexively, faintly recalling something about an anniversary of some sort. He didn’t care right now. He brought the device to the ear beneath his still dripping hair, waiting for the line to connect. After a while, he heard a concerned “ _Satori?_ ”

“Eita..”

_“Oh god, ‘Eita’ is never good. What happened?”_

“I think I’ve made some progress.”

_“..Care to elaborate?”_

“I think I’ve scored another date.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Monster chapter, because I couldn't get enough of imagining my babies in suits.  
> No, we didn't get Tendou's past yet, since I planned that for a specific scenario in the future. Apologies to those of you, who anticipated it to be revealed in this chapter, but momma isn't ready for the hardcore angst yet ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> I mentioned some cities in this chapter, which might have caused confusion, so here's the thing: Shiroishi is a city in the Miyagi prefecture and I decided to make this their hometown, because the first kanji of Shiroishi "白" is the same as the "Shira-" of Shiratorizawa. Ogawara is not far from there, easy to reach with train and car, but most of the story up until now has taken place in Shiroishi, where I made them live.  
> I'm moving on Monday and my new semester starts the week after so it'll get hectic from now on, but because I'll have my own apartment, regular updates might be a thing again, yay! *throws glitter*  
> Kudos and comments are always welcome, but you can also yell at me on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/0rdinaryfangirl).
> 
> Next time:  
> More eagles and UTSUI TAKASHI (!!!!)


	11. Lost In Thoughts

 “Satori! Don’t forget to take your letter of application with you! The sooner you hand it in, the better. Trust me, when I say I know what publishing companies have to go through.”

The omega was about ready to go to school, just slipping into his shoes, when his mother called out to him from the kitchen. With a piece of toast still hanging from his mouth, Satori couldn’t answer immediately and the brunette appeared in the doorframe with an apron shielding her work clothes. Tendou Hanako was employed at the marketing department of a women’s magazine and therefore mostly dressed in rather formal attire. A white blouse, paired with a dark blue pencil skirt, heels in matching color and translucent tights to complete the ensemble. Her brown hair was tied in a loose bun and her lips were painted in a nude tone, perfectly complimenting her blue eyes.  
Sometimes, Satori wished for himself to resemble his mother more, but it was undeniable that he was the spitting image of his father. He subconsciously grinds his teeth at the thought.

“Angel?”

He looked up from his feet and gulped down the last piece of toast to meet her concerned gaze. With his Cheshire grin, he slid into his white blazer and waved an envelope in front of her unique, blue eyes.

“I’ll hand it in on my way to school. See you later.”

With a kiss to her cheek, Satori took his bags and skipped down the stairs of their front door with a last call from his mother.

“By the way, Sumia called yesterday! She’ll visit in in a two weeks and introduce her girlfriend to us.”

He nodded at the message and walked down the familiar path to Shiratorizawa Academy, with a content smile lining his features. Tendou Sumia was Satori’s sister, by now 21 years old and currently living in Tokyo, majoring in art history. The siblings were similar in looks and their personalities could overlap from time to time, but while Satori often felt dejected or sad when left alone, his older sister enjoyed her life to the fullest, always optimistic and surrounded by people. Apparently, she had started seeing someone a few months ago and neither his mother nor him had met the girl yet. From the little information they received about her, she was an alpha from the chemistry department of her university, currently doing her doctorate. Satori chuckled at the thought of someone actually being able to handle Sumia’s hectic and bubbling personality. On second thought, he probably wasn’t much better when he was in his best mood. They both needed someone grounding in their life, someone like.. whatever. _Bad thoughts, Satori._ With a chuckle, he greeted a business man on his way to work, who waved back from the driver’s seat of the car rolling by.  
In two weeks he’d meet the happy couple and see Sumia again. That would be mid-November. His face constricted to a frown. _W_ _ait._ The omega halted for a moment. Now that he thought about it, in two weeks his heat would be coming up.. Hopefully he wouldn’t be incapacitated during their visit. He hadn’t seen his sister in months and naturally wanted to catch up with her, as their family of three had always been very close.  
The last corner before turning left towards the school gates came into sight and thankfully, Satori caught the red mailbox at the roadside. He looked at the upper corner of the envelope in his hands and deciphered his own handwriting. This would directly go to the headquarters of _Shueisha Inc_ in Tokyo. With a pounding heart and all of the courage he could muster, the crimson approached the box and took a final deep breath, before sliding the envelope with his profile and résumé inside.  
There was no denying it. His high school days were coming to an end and he needed to think about his future now. He hated extensive studying, so college wasn’t an option for him. After some research and consultations, Satori had decided to go for an apprenticeship at a publishing company in Tokyo, as an editor. But not any publishing house. No, he wanted to be part of the works he had been so passionate for most of his life. _Shueisha Inc_ was in charge of Weekly Shounen Jump, Weekly Young Jump and many other magazines that he read on a regular basis, so working there would be like a dream coming true. He was prepared to face a refusal, but someone who didn’t try could never gain something, right? At least, that's what his mother had hammered into him when he had his doubts on the matter. But in the end of the discussion she was right, he had read manga and magazines for over a decade and liked to actually work on desks. His Jap literature marks were at their peak and he could start to earn money pretty early, which was great. If he got accepted, he’d probably move to the city and rent a small apartment for himself, since the shifts in a publishing company didn’t always have ‘beginnings’ and ‘ends’. He would probably have to pull all-nighters as often as eating cereal in the morning. Well, he was used to bingewatching anime at night anyway, so that fact didn’t deter him at all.  
With a sad smile he studied the mailbox in front of him. In a few weeks, they’d participate in the prefectural spring high one last time. After that they’d have to leave the club for good, since Oohira and Semi would go to college and needed to study for their entrance exams. Yamagata had trained a good second year libero and would spend the remaining months before spring with a part time job, since he didn’t want to be on the team if Semi wasn’t there and wanted to give the team a chance to actually concentrate on the _new_ generation of the club. Ushijima would probably stay on the team, not as a member but as an assistant coach to gain knowledge and stay in shape before he actually set off into the world like the eagle Shiratorizawa was often associated with. And Satori.. well, he would try and make the most of the remaining time in this school. They’d all go their separate paths after all and one should think of it as an exciting experience to start a new chapter in life, but damn was it hard to let go of something one grew attached to.

A cough from behind is what snapped him out of his trance. The omega blinked and realized that he was still just standing there, in front of the mailbox that seemed to hold his entire future.  
He turned around to see.. a male omega, maybe a few years older than him, more on the chubby side, with a young, dozing pup tightly secured on his back and a letter in hand. Satori tried to recall any male omegas with children living here, but ended up with the conclusion that they must be new in the neighborhood. After a moment of staring, the man looked at Satori funny and moved his lips around a “May I?” motioning to the red container attached to the wall. Only now did Satori step aside awkwardly, as he had been blocking the slit of the box the whole time. With a smile, the man leaned forward and slid the letter inside. The parent’s neck was adorned with the familiar, crescent shape of teeth and Satori took a step back for good measure. _A bond mark._ For some reason, his hand itched to reach for his own neck, but thankfully he could suppress the urge. It would be a disrespectful gesture among omegas, as if one was envying the other’s relationship status. He wondered briefly, how it must have felt to receive such a mark?

“Are you a student from the high school close by?”

Raising his red gaze to the other’s hazel one, he found that the question was directed at him. Embarrassed by his previous thoughts, he answered with a hoarse “Yes?”  
The man beamed and extended a hand, which Satori shook politely. “Thought so! You see, me and my mate moved here recently and honestly I was a little shocked to see how few omegas we have in this neighborhood and even fewer male ones at that!” Ok, so this guy was a talkative one. His expression was too open, his posture too careless and he even had a child with him. Has this omega never heard of stranger danger? “So I’m kinda relieved to see you.. I honestly thought _What if there is discrimination? Have all the other omegas left this neighborhood because of some incident we missed?_ But Takuya said: _Mutsumi, you’re overreacting._ I mean, he always says that and he’s right most of the times, but it’s not bad to be a little cautious, don’t you agree?”  
Trying to process the previous stream of consciousness from the other, Satori blinked twice and tried an affirmative nod. At least he thought it was a good response. Apparently it was, because Mutsumi (had he caught that right?) nodded along and gave a triumphant huff, as if saying “I knew it”.  
This situation was getting a little too weird for the crimson’s taste, although he was usually the one leaving an impression and therefore he tried to cut the exchange short with some kind of forced smile. “Uhm, I still have school so.. Welcome to the neighborhood..?”  
The older omega smiled even wider (how was that even possible?) and reached for his hand once more, shaking it in a strong grip.  
  
“Hmm~! Hope to see you again! Have a good day!”  
  
Murmuring back a “You too” and only sparing one more glance at the dazzling personality that was now part of their neighborhood, he turned the corner and already caught sight of a couple of students in his school uniform.  
Absentmindedly touching the right side of his neck where his scent glands were located, Satori jogged towards the school building. _Well, maybe that mailbox didn't old his_ entire _future._

 

“WHERE IS HE?”

Satori was about to take his lunch money and buy bread, after his morning classes had ended, when he heard the familiar, agitated voice in the hallway. One of his classmates apparently rat him out, since it took exactly three and a half seconds until a mop of blond and ashen appeared in the doorframe, beautiful features constricted to a furious expression.

“Yo~ Semisemi, I just wanted to look for y-“

“Tendou Satori, don’t give me that BS,” Semi stalked up to him, his face showing no compassion whatsoever. The crimson might have flinched a little, “ _Come with me_.” His classmates started snickering when the blond omega dragged his teammate along, despite the complaints from his fellow omega about how he could very well walk without help and that he wouldn’t run away anymore.  
The walk towards the cafeteria was filled with silence and when they arrived to the crowded hall, it didn’t take long to buy their lunch, so they sat down at one of the tables in the far back, where there was basically no possibility of someone eavesdropping.  
Semi took a seat, uncapped his bottle of water, munched on a piece of carrot and fixed his scarlet-haired friend with a glare.

“So.”

Satori had a hunch where this was going.

“So?”

“ _So_ , what did you mean by scoring a second date?”

Ok, never mind that hunch. He had known from the beginning. Bringing the bread to his mouth and taking a hearty bite to calm the unpleasant rumble in his stomach, the omega chewed and answered at the same time. “I tol fuh, ‘twas spfur momfen.”  
Earning himself an unimpressed stare from his teammate, Semi calmly said, “That’s disgusting and you know it.”  
Satori swallowed and gave a grin, to which the other only rolled his eyes.  
“I said that it was only in the spur of the moment.”  
The blond narrowed his eyes, “What was?”  
Now it was the crimson’s turn to roll his eyes, “The date thing. The fact that I called you and announcing that, before thinking it through.”  
A vein popped up on Semi’s forehead and Satori knew that he had fucked up royally, if the dangerous smile adorning his friend’s face was anything to go by.  
“Well, if you hadn’t _hung up_ on me right after calling in the first place, we could have figured it out _together_. Because that is what friends do, no?”  
With a pointed look, the setter pinned him to the spot. If there was a prize for guilt-tripping somebody, Semi would win it with ease. Satori sighed and put his bread down. “Fine, I’ll tell you what happened on Saturday..”

   
  


“Tendou, wait.”

As the crimson made his way towards the front door, the voice startled him and he looked over his shoulder to see his classmate approaching. In a disbelieving tone he asked,  
“Wakatoshi-kun?”  
Why had he followed him? “Did I forget my phone or something?” There was no reason for the alpha to see him to the door. He examined his pockets, but no, neither his phone nor his wallet was missing. Ushijima stopped a step in front of him and said.. nothing. A few moments of silence ticked by. Ok, this was awkward.  
  
“Why did you follow me?”  
_Now, he thinks I’m expecting something. Idiot, idiot, idiot.  
_ Inwardly cursing himself for the bold question, Satori bit down on his bottom lip and stared at the tips of his teammate’s shoes.  
Thankfully (bless that boy and his obliviousness), Ushijima didn’t interpret it in any strange way, because he replied calmly.  
  
“I felt like I had to thank you.”  
  
“I’ve told your mother already, I enjoyed coming along. It’s been fun and I learne-“  
  
“Not only for doing my mother a favor, but also for everything that came along with it.”  
  
Now _that_ made Satori halt.  
  
“And by _everything_ you mean..?”  
  
Raising his red gaze to find the alpha’s intense one already directed at him, he swallowed and waited patiently for whatever was to come.  
"Your company tonight was enjoyable, as I usually see events like these as a nuisance." Satori's heart sped up. This was basically Ushijima telling him that he had liked the evening with _him_ as the positive factor among mostly negative ones, right? If this conversation would develop any further, the omega wasn't sure whether or not he could keep himself from blurting out his feelings. “Also, you paid for our share of food earlier.” Satori never felt so happy in his life that Ushijima decided on a subtle change of topic. Satori was able to breathe again.  
“I would feel uncomfortable with leaving the situation like this, so I would like to pay you back in the same way, whenever an opportunity arises. Only if you consent, of course.”  
Nevermind, breathing on hold again. That wording was so fucked up, the crimson felt a physical need to press on.  
  
“So basically, you’re asking, whether or not you can treat me to dinner?”  
  
“That was my basic intention, yes.”  
  
This was a dream. This _had_ to be a dream, because things like that shouldn’t happen to him. Things like that were supposed to happen in a rom-com and not in sports genre! Was there only one way to interpret this, or were there multiple? Heck, if he knew. Could he ask Ushijima to wait here, go inside, call Semi, come back and give his answer then? Was he even able to agree to whatever this was after rejecting Tsutomu earlier? But this might be a one in a million chance, if he declined and this actually _was_ Ushijima making a move, he’d surely regret it later.

“If you find my request unreasona-“

“Yes. My answer is yes.”

A million different scenarios, including pros and cons, positive outcomes and utter failures swam through the omega's head, but the soft quirk of Ushijima’s lips erased them all for a moment and Satori exhaled a breath that might have come out shaky.

“Good. Send your mother my regards and rest well.”

With that, the ace turned around and the crimson was granted one last look at those gorgeously clothed back muscles, before he also spun on his heels rather robotically and took the few stairs to his front door, key already in hand.

   
  


“Which concludes the story of how I blindly mistook a _request_ as an invitation to dinner.”

Satori added air quotes to the word, since he had the whole Sunday to analyze their conversation for any errors he might have missed, because really, Ushijima Wakatoshi asking _him_ out? He got too far ahead of himself, but even if it was just for a few moments, he had felt happy.

“Satori.” The omega looked up from his bread and found Semi frowning at him. “I don’t think you’ve misunderstood. The way you recounted the conversation didn’t sound ambiguous to me. But if you have your doubts..” Satori raised his eyebrows expectantly. “Ask him.”  
  
“Ask him what exactly?”  
  
“If it’s a date.”  
  
The crimson quirked an eyebrow incredulously. “What? Why should I ask that? Talk about embarrassing..”  
  
“Because it’s not clear to you.”

“I don’t remember you asking Gatachin whether your first date was a date!”

“He had already asked to court me, of course it was obvious.”

“What was obvious?”

Next to their table stood Shirabu, their second year setter and the last fellow omega on the team and honestly? Satori was about to scream if the kouhai had heard any more of their previous conversation, because he bet Semi had already spilled the beans in front of Yamagata and he couldn’t take any more team members knowing of his feelings for their captain.  
Without breaking eye contact with his flustered best friend, Semi gestured to a nearby seat.  
  
“Perfect timing. Kenjirou, sit down.”  
  
“No offense Ken-chan, but please don’t”, Satori begged.  
  
“How about neither of you orders me around?” The omega with the asymmetrical haircut snapped, but took a seat anyway. The middle blocker mouthed a silent _Don’t do this_ to his friend, while Shirabu separated his chopsticks, but the request was in vain.  
  
“Kenjirou, the following events and characters are fictitious and any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.” The younger omega rolled his eyes for good measure and picked up a beansprout, waiting for the actual story. “So there is this omega..” Satori glared daggers at his so-called _friend_ , which were kindly ignored. “And he’s in love with an alpha. The alpha is pretty clueless and probably uninterested in entering a relationship and therefore the omega has kept his distance until now.. but recently there have been signs that there might be mutual feelings. What would you advise the omega to do? Make a move, or continue to keep his distance?”  
  
Seemingly apathetic to the topic, the second year chewed his lunch with an unreadable expression, before swallowing and setting the chopsticks down. His hazel eyes locked with Satori’s red ones, completely ignoring the senpai that brought it up in the first place.

“With my lack of information, I obviously can’t give specific advice..”

  
Semi already opened his mouth to give more details, but Shirabu was faster, holding up a palm to the older, “and trust me I _don’t_ even want to get dragged into this any more than necessary, but that omega,” he definitely knew it was about his senpai, given the piercing look Satori received from the younger, “should first and foremost try to get their feelings and thoughts in order.”  
The middle blocker anxiously fiddled with the wrapping of his bread and his eyes darted from Semi to Shirabu and back to Semi, who also seemed to contemplate the thought. After a few moments of silence, the youngest picked up his chopsticks again and added, “What I mean is, that you shouldn’t act rashly. Think of what you really want from this alpha and what you need to do in order to achieve that. Give it some time. Try to clear your mind and let loose, before you decide on something you might regret later.”  
None of them even realized that he slipped up in his choice of pronouns during that last part. The dull chatter of the surrounding tables settled between them and Shirabu calmly munched on his slice of whitebait, before looking up to see his upperclassmen staring at him in awe. His cheeks reddened and an irritated crease settled deep between his brows.

“W-What?”

Semi leaned backwards and smirked at the setter, bobbing his head in acknowledgement.

“Kenjirou is such a good boy sometimes. Why can’t you always be like that?”

The fellow omega reddened even more and tried to smack away the other blond’s hand when it came too close to petting his head, but Satori kept quiet, processing the advice he had received.  
Shirabu was right. In the past months, he had only worried about potential court mates, be it Tsutomu or Ushijima.. Desperately clinging to any indication he receives wouldn’t get him anywhere. After the spring tournament, in the remaining months he had here at this school, he needed to seriously think about what he wanted and as soon as he found an answer, he’d take matters in his own hands. Satori might as well confess, if that was what he decided on. He would stay friends with Tsutomu and continue to hang out with Ushijima and surely, the time when he knew the extent of his feelings would come.  
With a loud “Yosh!” Satori stretched his arms over his head and grinned toothily at the other two residents of the table, who blinked with equally puzzled expressions. “I totally agree with Ken-chan, Semisemi! Tell that omega of yours that he should really chill before panicking for no reason!”  
He took the wrapping of his bread and excused himself, since he still had to crib that cursed maths homework from someone. With scary precision, he tossed the torn package into a trash can, quite a few meters from him, earning an appreciative expression from one or the other student, before skipping towards the exit with a content smile grazing his features.  
He didn’t have to rush anything. He could return to his comfort zone for some more time, before confronting himself and Ushijima with any feelings he might harbor towards the alpha. The thought only made him beam wider.  
As if on cue, Oohira, Yamagata and said alpha entered the room and caught sight of him immediately.  
  
“Hiya~! Eita and Ken-chan are sitting back there,” he gave a vague wave to the direction he came from and went straight for Ushijima, approaching him with a confidence he hadn’t possessed for some time. With a clap to the other’s pectorals (He could honestly start a religion on those muscles only) he sent his friend a genuine smile, briefly locking eyes with the olive gaze that he could never read and saw the group off with a cheerful expression. “Enjoy your meal!”  
The alphas blinked in varying states of confusion, Oohira being the first to throw his head back and laugh. “I’m glad he is his old self again! I was a little worried that something had happened, but it seems like everything’s back to normal now. Come on.”  
The dark haired teen already turned towards the line of students at the counter, but Yamagata and Ushijima stayed rooted on the spot, the latter staring at the continuously opening and closing doors of the hall with a blank face, while the other narrowed his eyes in confusion. Only a motion to his right caught Yamagata’s attention, where the captain raised his palm to touch the place over his heart, the same area Tendou’s palm had previously occupied, although still looking at throng of people passing the entrance. Putting two and two together, the shorter alpha averted his eyes elsewhere and searched the hall for a familiar tuft of blond or ashen, which he caught sight of pretty fast given his court mate’s height. Clearing his throat to snap his fellow alpha team member out of whatever daydream he was having, a thought nagged at Yamagata’s sanity.  
How were these two not together yet?

   
  


“Good work today!”

The exhausted students entered the clubroom with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Coach Washijo’s training regimen only posed to be more brutal the closer the date of the spring tournament’s preliminaries got and everyone was suffering, even Wakatoshi felt the difference.  
The droplets of sweat running down his collarbones dipped beneath his T-shirt, wetting the collar and creating a darker spot in the already black fabric. The muscles in his thighs and calves screamed in agony, as he had over paced his usual extent of jumping and his left palm gave a sting. When he examined it, he found the skin a glowing red. It was fine.. because today he had decided to give 150%. Closing the hand to a fist again, he opened his locker and dabbed his sweaty face with a towel. Despite the already savage training and his aching limbs, he felt satisfied. Today was special.

“Anyone up for meat buns or something?”

Soekawa, their beta vice captain got a few cheers and relieved moans in response, the loudest one being Goshiki, who seemed about ready to cry of happiness after he had thrown up once during practice today. Wakatoshi had just buttoned up the shirt of his uniform again, when a flash of red appeared in the corner of his vision. He turned and found Tendou, strands of crimson in his face and a bead of sweat running down his nose. Although he looked visibly tired, he asked with a tilt of his head “Are you coming along, Wakatoshi-kun?”  
The alpha fixed his tie in the mirror of his locker and closed it afterwards with care, before facing his friend. “I apologize in advance, but there is somewhere I have to be today.”  
Tendou gave a noncommittal nod in response and went away to talk to Semi, meanwhile Wakatoshi packed up his belongings, before throwing a general “good work” into the round of chatter and exiting the room.  
The harsh November breeze brushed his still moist forehead unpleasantly and the alpha noted that he should start to bring a scarf to school soon, if he didn’t want to catch a cold before the preliminaries. Not that he ever got sick, but better safe than sorry.  
He checked the time on his phone, the display lighting up his surroundings and found it to be 7:00 pm already. _15 minutes to go.._  
Noticing his breath leaving his lips in visible clouds, the ace took long steps to be on time, ignoring the unforgiving cold creeping up his forearms beneath his blazer. The peaceful neighborhood was already illuminated by street lamps, as the night time started to last longer in the commencing winter. Wakatoshi buried his hands in the pockets of his school uniform and picked up his pace, after all.. he’d finally see his father again.

 

 

_''This is a safety announcement. It is not permitted to cycle, skateboard or roller blade within the station building.”_

_"Please do not leave your luggage unattended on the station. Luggage left unattended may be removed without warning or destroyed or damaged by the security services."_

_"Please stand back from the platform edge until the stopping service has come to a stop at the platform. Be aware high speed trains can pass this platform at any time"._

__“Attention please. Next train is the JR EAST from Tokyo to Shin-Aomori, arriving at platform 3. In the interests of safety, please stand back from the edge of the platform, until your train comes to a complete stop.”_ _

At the mention of the train approaching, Wakatoshi looked up from the book he was reading and stood to meet his relative. The bullet train slowed down at the platform and shortly, after the doors opened and the usual throng of Japanese business men and travelers exited the vehicle. Grateful to be taller than most people, the alpha stretched his neck to find a familiar shade of brown among the sheer endless passengers, but the task seemed impossible and therefore he waited for the crowd to disperse. He could see people in suits hurrying to catch their next train, elderly women standing in the middle of the platform with a hand adjusting their glasses, in order to decipher the signs above and a mixture of middle and elementary schoolers slipping through the adults on their way home.

“PAPA!”

A wail to his left cut through most of the noise on the platform and Wakatoshi turned to see woman with a pup, not more than two years old making grabby hands to a man that had gotten off the train just now, if the large suitcase he carried was anything to go by. The man’s exhausted features relaxed immediately when he saw the child and he took it into his arms, pressing its face to his neck. Not that the child could actually distinguish any scents yet, but Wakatoshi concluded that it must be an instinct as a father. The man, pup safely tugged against his chest, only fussing a little in the hold, leaned forward and kissed his wife, beaming as if this moment of reunion had just made this the best day of his life.  
At the intimate scene in front of him, the young alpha felt a sharp tug in his chest that he would have given more thought on, if it weren’t for the voice reaching his ears.

“Wakatoshi!”

Before he could fully turn his head, he was already dragged into a pair of strong arms. “God! I almost didn’t recognize you!” Warmth settled in his chest and the calm scent of firewood and rain filled his nostrils as he found his own face near his father’s scent glands. The embrace tightened to the point of pain and only when he contemplated speaking up to voice his discomfort, the fellow alpha separated himself from him, although keeping his palms on his shoulders. With an arm’s length between them, Utsui Takashi, looked his son up from head to toe, his olive eyes glinting approvingly. “Hmm! I don’t know what your mother fed you in the past years, but it’s paying off. You’re buff, son!” He playfully smacked Wakatoshi’s chest, throwing his head back in laughter.  
With relief, Wakatoshi noticed his father to be in good shape. Aside from the scruff on his chin and the shadows beneath his eyes that came with such a long flight with an additional train ride, the man looked healthy. Takashi’s chuckle died down and he smiled wide, nostalgia lining his expression, as he locked gazes with his son.

“I mean it. You look good Wakatoshi.”

The ace responded just as solemnly, “Welcome home.”  
They made their way out of the station building, Wakatoshi dragging the suitcase after him, after insisting that his father should take it slow. Takashi filled the space between them with conversation and the younger alpha listened intently. It was easy to get lost in the stories about foreign countries, their traditions and people. After retiring from being a player, his father decided to stay home and take care of Wakatoshi, since the Ushijima’s were having a few worrying competitors during that period of time. Unfortunately though, after so many years of marriage and giving up on playing volleyball professionally, Takashi had felt suffocated. He wanted to leave and travel the world, assisting different teams, picking up new techniques and meeting all kinds of characters on his way. Meanwhile his mother wanted to stay in order to support the family business. A beta female’s pride and an alpha male’s dream clashed and their son could recall an increase of arguments between the two parties during that time. A divorce was the most logical outcome.  
He wasn’t bitter about his father leaving. His reasons had been understandable and five years ago, Wakatoshi had been old enough to comprehend the process, so that it wouldn’t affect his relationship to either parent negatively. Both of them were on good terms with each other again and thankfully he had never felt obligated to choose a side.

“Would you like to go ahead, father?” Takashi turned towards him and frowned at the question. His son elaborated, “Mother will be in Hokkaido until next week and I have been spending most evenings at grandmother’s traditional residence, therefore we do not have many ingredients in the fridge. You can go ahead and rest, while I buy grocer-“

“Let’s buy them together.”

Wakatoshi examined his father’s expression and found every reason to decline the offer, with the man’s obvious tiredness. He had even yawned a few times after they left the train station. “I believe it would be more productive if you went home to lie down, while I make dinner. It will surely take a while to get rid of the eventual jetlag.”  
Still, the older alpha shook his head and turned in the direction of the nearest konbini. _He still knows the way.._ Wakatoshi hurried after him and listened to his father rambling about “how important it was to spend some casual Father-Son time, by buying groceries”.  
The ace couldn’t agree more.  
  
At this time of the day, it was rather easy to purchase food, as most of the neighborhood mothers usually come by noon. His father seemed to have the time of his life, finally being able to read all the different kanji on the packages again. With almost childish giddiness, he pointed to the signs above the aisles reading “cereals” or “office equipment” aloud, resulting in the cashier up front sending them a suspicious glance. Wakatoshi couldn’t seem to care so instead, he chuckled lowly and loaded their basket with all types of ingredients he knew his father enjoyed.  
Ten minutes later, they exited the store and eventually made their way home. Takashi stretched his arms above his head and recounted an amusing story from France where he visited a supermarket called _Carrefour_ and almost got into a fight with an employee, because he wanted to know in which aisle they kept the tofu. Apparently, he had pronounced “tofu” the wrong way and repeated the word _“tout-fou”,_ which meant something like “lunatic”, while pairing it with wild gesticulations. Even the normally stoic alpha couldn’t withhold a smile at the imagination of that scene.  
  
“No wonder that guy pointed at me and exclaimed “ _Vous_ -êtes fou!”  
  
Soon, they stood in front of the modern two-story building with a well-kept front lawn and mailbox sign that read ‘ _Ushijima’_.  
While the student made to enter their estate, the older alpha paused momentarily and blinked at the house with a look Wakatoshi couldn’t place.  
“This brings back memories..” Takashi’s features looked calm, if not a little rueful. His parents had bought this house shortly after getting married, so the younger alpha could understand the feelings of his father to a certain extent.  
He unlocked the door, heaving his father’s luggage into the clean doorway and motioning for the older to go inside. The brunet smiled while taking in the interior and toeing off his shoes.  
  
“Little has changed, since I’ve last been here. And Kazue is okay with me staying?”  
  
Wakatoshi copied the movement and placed their jackets on the rack with a scowl, “I believe she insists. After all, it’s just as much your house as it is hers.”  
As he turned, he found his father blinking at the few pictures they had in their hallway. One of them was a photo of elementary school Wakatoshi, dressed in shorts, knee high socks, a simple blue T-shirt and a yellow sun hat. It had been taken on the lawn in his grandmother’s garden and he could faintly remember it being a sunny day in summer, all of them eating watermelon on the veranda in the evening. A truly pleasant childhood memory, but even as a child, he had been closed off. Despite most parents wanting to see their children showing a toothy smile, maybe holding up a grasshopper or a flower into the camera, his own parents never minded his expressionless features. Just like in this photo, where Wakatoshi was just blankly staring at the camera with a slight tilt of his head.  
The other photo they had on their wall was from his first match in the middle school division of Shiratorizawa. He knew that he had presented as an alpha just two weeks before this match and he almost couldn’t play, because he still had to let a doctor check on his condition, with all the changes happening to one’s body, but fortunately he was able to attend and even won. In the picture, he was wearing the classic school colors maroon and white and holding the small trophy of the victorious team. Both of his parents stood on either side of him, crouching a little and holding up a peace sign, proud smiles adorning their faces. Wakatoshi had rarely ever seen his mother grin so wide, not even his grandmother had many pictures of her laughing properly, but he was thankful that they were able to capture this moment on camera, although he himself didn’t look all too enthusiastic about it, like most of the time.  
Half a year later his parents had divorced, but he knew that all three of them still loved each other and that affection would never cease.

While letting his father take a well-needed bath, Wakatoshi prepared a simple dinner for both of them. They talked about everything and nothing, as both of them couldn’t converse properly anymore with the clock ticking closer to 9. It was pleasant though. Utsui Takashi knew what to talk about, but more now he also enjoyed letting a few minutes of silence tick by, which the younger alpha welcomed. It felt good to spend time with his father again and although Ushijima Wakatoshi didn’t miss much, he had certainly missed this, which brought a question to his mind.

“How long will you be staying in Japan?”

The older brunet delicately held a bite of rice between his chopsticks, before lowering them to the bowl again and looking at his son with a shaky smile that his son didn’t know the source of yet.

“Actually, I am sorry for not being here these past two and a half years and I know that it hasn’t actively bothered you, but it pained _me_ to see you grow up so quickly and into such an honest young man, therefore..” the same shade of olive green irises Wakatoshi saw in the mirror everyday blinked at him solemnly, “I’d like to stay until your graduation.”

The ace’s eyebrows drew together in disbelief. “How are you able to do that? Will the teams you are coaching not mi-“

“Yeah, they’ll have to miss out on me for some time, but I took care of everything already,” Takashi’s smile grew fond at the edges, “since my son is more important to me.”

Eyes widening at the words, Wakatoshi’s chest grew warm. He would enjoy spending the next few months with his father, but he didn’t want him to sacrifice anything for his sake. He didn’t notice his eyebrows creasing at the thought. So if it would be better for his father’s career to leave sooner then-  
“Let me stop your train of thoughts right there.” The student looked up and found green eyes glinting stubbornly. “As long as you want me here, there’s no reason for me to leave. So stop mulling over the small stuff, yes?”  
Wakatoshi exhaled in defeat and replied begrudgingly, “I would prefer your stay over an early departure.”  
His father beamed and nodded once, before digging into his dinner again and in all honesty, at the sight in front of him, Wakatoshi couldn’t seem to care about anything but his own felicity.

They turned in for the night shortly after, his father groggily retreating to the bedroom him and his wife had once shared, while the younger alpha flipped through his homework once in his own room. Thankfully, he didn’t need to prepare anything but a few pages in his English textbook for tomorrow, so he quickly turned out the lights and stretched out on his mattress. Resting motionlessly on the soft surface of his bed, the exhaustion of the day finally made itself present from beneath his skin and weighted down his limbs to a point of almost paralysis. With all the strength he could muster, which wasn’t a lot, the alpha drowsily managed to plug in his phone and set the alarm for tomorrow.  
Surrendering to the heaviness of his eyelids, Wakatoshi let them close and exhaled deep breaths, already slipping into a state of unconsciousness.  
In the back of his mind, he faintly remembered a discussion he had with his father over the phone, only a few months ago. It had been important for sure, but right now, he couldn’t recall what it had been about, so he didn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter might not have been packed with as much emotion as the previous ones, but we all need to take a step back from time to time, so no screaming pls?:)  
> It's the last day of 2017, so props to me for uploading this after yet another hiatus haha..ha.. I still can't believe that people keep reading and commenting so kindly, although I'm such an unreliable writer. Every positive comment is a kick in the ass for me, so at this point, I want to thank all of my readers who supported me in 2017! You guys are awesome<3  
> I did a post concerning my fics on Tumbr so if you want to check that out while it's fresh, go ahead -> [here](https://0rdinaryfangirl.tumblr.com/post/169115694268/i-will-never-abandon-a-fic)  
> If you want to keep updated on my progress, follow me on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/0rdinaryfangirl), where you can obviously also kick my ass (◡‿◡✿)


End file.
